


What Flows Through Our Veins

by NerdyGay



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fire Emblem Fusion, Alternate Universe - Mineta Minoru Doesn't Exist, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Canon-Typical Violence, Crests (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Gen, M/M, Magic, Pre-Slash, Prince Todoroki Shouto, Video Game Mechanics, can I use that even though this isn't really a FE3H fic?, no beta we die like Glenn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:41:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23827030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NerdyGay/pseuds/NerdyGay
Summary: Midoriya Izuku was four when he was deemed Crestless. For a noble child in the Kingdom of Faerghus of Fódlan, this meant he could never inherit his titles, choose who to marry, nor (most importantly) attend the Officer's Academy at UA Monastery.However, after an encounter with a strange demonic beast, he meets All Might, the Captain of the Knights of Seiros and the Symbol of Peace, who entrusts in him his rare and powerful (yet dangerous) Crest. On his way to becoming a knight, he'll meet a commoner with a Crest, a noble obsessed with nobility, and a mysterious Prince who seems to impossibly have two Crests.A My Hero Academia story set in the Fire Emblem: Three Houses universe, where Quirks become Crests and villains continue to slither in the dark.
Relationships: Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead & Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku & Uraraka Ochako, Midoriya Izuku & Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto
Comments: 19
Kudos: 60





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to this extremely niche fic! It’s my first time writing something of large scale, so let me know how it is, I always appreciate feedback. You don’t need to have played Fire Emblem to follow along (I hope), though I will be making some references to game mechanics and lore that I will attempt to explain.
> 
> For those of you who have played the games, I changed certain aspects of the games and borrowed “mechanics” from other FE games as well. Though the territories and family names are the same, this takes place in a separate timeline from Three Houses, so none of those events will happen. Also I stole the opening monologue from Jeralt almost verbatim, so sorry. 
> 
> The prologue is pretty short, but I’m hoping that future chapters will be a bit more substantial. I don’t own any of this, obviously. Enjoy!

The continent of Fódlan, said to be protected by a revered goddess, has existed since time immemorial. Three ruling powers now control the land. In the south lies a region long held by an ancient dynasty–-the Adrestian Empire. Beyond its borders, to the frigid north, is the home of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, ruled by the royal family and its knights. To the east, a league of nobles that heeds no king or emperor rules what is called the Leicester Alliance. Once consumed by a tempest of war and turmoil, Fódlan and these three mighty powers now exist in relative harmony.

In the center of it all, the mighty Church of Seiros spreads its holy influence through all three regions. The Church preaches of a Goddess who once descended to the mortal place to gift worthy humans divine powers known as Crests, which flowed through their blood to enhance their combat abilities. She also gifted them powerful weapons known as Relics, which when used with their associated Crests allowed the wielder to brandish the power of gods.

Using their new abilities and weapons, these humans then took power and founded the Adrestian Empire, forming the noble houses that ruled for generations, even when the Empire split into the Kingdom and the Alliance. Though more useful in times of war, Crests quickly became symbols of social status and power, allowing the nobility to claim a divine right to rule. 

One thousand years after the founding of the Adrestian Empire, one man took on the mantle of Captain of the Church’s Knights of Seiros and with his power secured peace across Fodlan. This man, known to most only as All Might, became the Symbol of Peace across the continent; even his name struck fear into bandits and forced would-be conquerors to reconsider conquest. He transformed the Knights into an inspiring, heroic institution, intent on protecting the common good. 

Even in this age of peace, however, Crests still determine the fates of lives and nations, and something sinister lurks in the shadows...

* * *

**Galatea Territory, Kingdom of Faerghus, Fodlan. Imperial Year 1025**  
Midoriya Izuku is four years old when a Crest Scholar visits his village and subsequently ruins his life. 

The scholar had travelled all the way from Enbarr in the Adrestian Empire, to his poverty-stricken village in the Kingdom, testing all the noble children for Crests along the way. Izuku had always found Crests fascinating, and was excited to learn more about them from such a renowned scholar. 

In Izuku’s area of the Kingdom, it was even deemed impossible for nobles to inherit property or become knights if they didn’t bear a Crest. Izuku wasn’t worried, however; his mom’s side of the family had reliably carried the Crest of Daphnel for generations, and his father had allegedly held a minor Crest of Charon as well before he went to fight indefinitely in Sreng without choosing to ever send letters. Though their territory was small and they were not even influential members of the Galatea Clan, their Crests ensured that they were secure in their quaint nobility. 

The scholar, an older man by the name of Tsubasa, slowly set up his equipment as Izuku thrummed with excitement at his mother’s side. He would have been excited on a normal day, but his anticipation was amplified with the recent news that his best friend, another young Alliance noble named Bakugo Katsuki, had recently discovered his own major Crest of Fraldarius while they were playing with stolen iron swords. The manifestation had shattered the sword, but everyone had been so excited for him that no one particularly cared. Ever since, Kacchan had been waiting impatiently for Izuku to manifest his Crest so that they could start to learn how to be knights together.

“Come, let’s get this calibrated, Inko,” said Tsubasa to Izuku’s mother as he finished setting up, shaking Izuku out of his thoughts. “Just put your hand over the machine, and your Crest will form inside your shadow. It’s far less invasive than the blood tests we used to use, and incredibly accurate! Truly a work of modern technology.”

Sure enough, as Inko raised her hand over the odd device, her shadow morphed into a bizarre symbol that Izuku immediately recognized as the Crest of Daphnel. Now almost bouncing with excitement, Izuku ran over as soon as the elderly scholar waved him over. Holding his hand in front of the machine, he waited for a Crest to form. After a few seconds, his mother started becoming visibly nervous as nothing changed.

After a minute of cold silence and no change, Tsubasa ushered them away as the next local noble child arrived. Izuku and his mother didn’t speak as they slowly walked home, both lost in their own thoughts.

Izuku didn’t understand. He needed a Crest to become a knight, why didn’t one appear? That was only supposed to happen if he was Crestless, but that wasn’t…

He could still be a knight. There were all kinds of knights without Crests. Sure, Crests were useful in battle, but commoners became knights all the time, and they usually didn’t have Crests, right? He swears there were probably a few famous knights without Crests, even if he couldn’t think of any. He could never inherit his titles or land, but he could still have his dream, right? Looking up at his mom, Izuku started to tell her this, or at least say something, but he stopped when he saw her face.

Tears streamed down her face as she engulfed him in a frantic hug. “I’m so sorry, Izuku,” she wept into his shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”

That’s not what you were supposed to say, thought Izuku.

* * *

**Enbarr, Adrestian Empire, Fodlan. Imperial Year 1027**  
Todoroki Shouto had had the bandages off for two weeks now, but he could still feel the acute pain around his left eye. His father, Emperor Todoroki Enji X, continued to storm around the palace in barely contained anger over how his “masterpiece” was so horribly scarred, but Shoto felt numb to all of it. At least Enji’s “training” hadn’t started again; Shouto hated fighting with axes and fists, and it always left him bruised and broken.

Looking down at his hands, he summoned the images of his Crests as his father had taught him. In his left hand, he conjourned the minor Crest of Seiros, his father’s Crest. With it, he could increase the power of weapon attacks, like the Emperor’s beloved axe, Aymr. In his right, a major Crest of Gloucester, inherited from his mother, glowed softly. It would boost his magic, and he knew his father had forced his mother’s family to give him the corresponding magic Relic, Thyrsus, as part of his mother’s dowry. 

In that moment, looking at the two sides of his power, Shouto made a silent vow to himself: he would master magic, and using only his mother’s Crest, he would become more powerful than his father. And when that day arrived, he would take satisfaction in the fact that he would never use the Emperor’s power.

* * *

**UA Monastery, Fodlan’s Center, Fodlan. Imperial Year 1030**  
Yagi Toshinori sighed as his fellow knight and subordinate Sir Nighteye paced angrily next to his hospital bed.

“I just don’t understand why you would risk yourself! You need to retire and find a successor if you want to survive,” lectured the frustrated mage. “Now that All For One is dead, you should relax, find a knight who can take up your mantle while Shuzenji heals you.”

“I understand you’re concerned, but I can’t abandon the people,” retaliated Toshinori. “They need All Might right now, and as the captain of the Knights of Seiros, it is my duty to protect them. I’ll have to find a successor later.”

* * *

**Daphnel Territory, Leicester Alliance, Fodlan. Imperial Year 1037**  
Uraraka Ochako whirled her lance at the straw dummy, unsatisfied as it barely made an impact. The Officer’s Academy’s entrance exam was approaching, and she needed as much practice as she could get. Since her family didn’t have the money to have her regularly ride a pegasus, her preferred battle mount, she had to make up for her lack of flying practice with her lance skills. 

Her Crest may be able to help her get UA’s attention, as very few commoners have Crests, but she had to be skilled enough to actually get in. Once that happened, she could become a knight, or a mercenary, and then she’d be able to help her parents live comfortably with her wages. She just had to try a little harder.

* * *

**Galatea Territory, Kingdom of Faerghus, Fodlan. Imperial Year 1037**  
Midoriya Izuku walked towards home from school, reflecting on Kacchan’s cruel words. His former friend had humiliated him for applying to the Officer’s Academy in front of their whole class, despite lacking a Crest. He had pointed out that lots of people without Crests got in… but none of them were nobles, and to Kacchan and the other highborn students, commoners didn’t count.

Sighing, he walked towards the tunnel under a large bridge. Maybe, just maybe, he’d find a way to become a knight, even if it took a miracle.


	2. The Impossible Crest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Somehow, demonic beasts do not ruin everything. At least, not for Midoriya.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly hoped to have this update up much sooner, but finals suck. I hope to have the next one up much faster, but honestly who knows.

**Galatea Territory, Kingdom of Faerghus, Fódlan. Imperial Year 1037**  
Izuku knew something was off as soon as he passed under the bridge. He could feel the oppressive aura of something sinister lurking through the air, but nothing was around it. Unsettled, he continued his walk home.

As he made his way through the tunnel, he spotted an object dimly glowing red on the floor. Carefully, he approached, drawing his simple iron sword. As he got closer, he noted that the mysterious object was a carved, blood-red stone that seemed to be pulsing with light, like a heartbeat. 

Izuku jumped back; he recognized the carvings from his books as those of a Crest Stone, which powered the Relics used by noble families. Crestless, he knew that touching such a holy object would bring the Goddess’s wrath upon him, or something of that caliber. Luckily, it should be harmless as long as he stayed --

The stone suddenly erupted with a dark sludge, expanding outwards in a disgusting display. For a few moments, the sludge twisted into the form of the ancient demonic beasts that Izuku recognized in books: twice as tall as a full grown man and four times as long, like an overgrown lizard, but with an oppressive sense of wrongness. Then, as soon as the monster had taken shape, it lost it, becoming a blob of infernal sludge with only the red stone glowing inside. 

The sludge surged towards Izuku, who snapped back into action and began to run away from the horrifying creature. Even with his sword, he knew he couldn’t fight it; if this really was a demonic beast, even a Knight of Seiros wouldn’t be able to defeat it on their own, and he was just a Myrmidon, leagues below the Knights. Unfortunately, he soon discovered that running was ineffective as well, as the sludge caught up to him and began to swallow him.

As the beast closed in around him, he tried in vain to swing his sword at the creature. Perhaps the stone was a weak point? If only he could try and stab it, perhaps it would let up. As the sludge enveloped him, however, he knew he was too late. He could feel himself running out of air, he was scared, he didn’t want to die. He slowly drifted out of consciousness as his body suffocated, pulling him down deeper into its depths. 

Then, suddenly, he heard a great boom as the sludge was torn from his body and he gasped for air. 

“Do not worry child, for I AM HERE!” Despite the danger, Izuku felt excitement and hope rush through him at the familiar phrase. Sure enough, he looked up and saw All Might, legendary Captain of the Knights of Seiros and the Symbol of Peace. The man represented everything that Izuku had ever wanted to be, with a reassuring smile and unmatched battle prowess. He was even wielding his signature Relic, the Smash Gauntlets, which could magically convert his strength to magic and attack at a distance! Izuku had to get an autograph--

“Don’t worry young man! I’ve already signed your journal!” bellowed All Might. Izuku flushed red when he realized that he had been muttering all his thoughts out loud in front of his idol. “Now excuse me, but I need to get this Crest Stone to a safe location to figure out why it was acting so strangely, and what it was doing here! Be safe young man!”

“Wait! I need to ask you a question!” yelled Izuku as All Might quickly picked up the now sludge-less Stone and began to turn away, clearly preparing to catapult himself in the air with his Relic. Grabbing onto his leg, Izuku felt himself thrown into the air with the knight. After what felt like an entire minute of being airborne, they finally dropped down onto a roof with no bystanders in sight. Izuku almost missed the other man streaming as he attempted to catch his breath.

Then, suddenly, All Might poofed in a cloud of steam, revealing a gaunt man who could definitely use a few meals. Naturally, Izuku screamed.

“Who are you!? What have you done with All Might!?”

“I am All Might. Calm down kid, you’re gonna draw attention to us. Damn, why did you have to grab on?” The thin man who claimed to be All Might rubbed his face wearily and sat down. Cautiously, Izuku sat next to him, watching the older man with suspicion in his eyes. “I assume you will tell no one of this?” All Might asked. Izuku shook his head rapidly, still too shocked to speak. “Well I suppose I’ll explain.

“There was a sorcerer about seven years ago, you wouldn’t have heard of him, who hurt me pretty badly. Specifically, he ripped out my entire stomach, one lung, and a few other organs.” He lifted his armor slightly to reveal a massive scar spanning his left side. “Now I can only fight for three hours a day or so. I’d appreciate you not telling anyone about this, the Knights have enough trouble without some bandits thinking they can start some trouble because I’m injured.”

Izuku nodded meekly, processing what he had heard. It seemed impossible at first, but now that he thought about it he supposed that All Might had been seen less over the past several years, though it was difficult to think of a sorcerer powerful enough to damage a man with such a powerful (though still unknown) Crest such as All Might, especially if he had all the white magic on the continent to treat his wounds given --

“Now, young man, you may as well ask your question,” All Might said, snapping Izuku out of his thoughts. 

“Oh right, well, I’m a Crestless noble, and I know some commoners without Crests attend the Officer’s Academy even without them but… could I become a Knight of Seiros without a Crest?” This was his chance. He needed to know.

“Well, of course it is possible but you have to understand. Many make it in without Crests, but judging by your build and skills I saw, not to mention the resources you must have access to as a noble but don’t seem to be taking advantage of… No, my boy. You cannot be a Knight at your level.”

Izuku felt something break inside him. He always knew it was a long shot, but with the Symbol of Peace in front of him telling him he couldn’t do it, he couldn’t muster up the hope any longer. Kacchan was right, he really was useless, a Deku.

Absently, he noticed All Might leave quietly and disappear into the streets below. After a minute, he followed. Usually his mind ran a mile a minute, but right now he just felt… empty. Cold. Nothing.

He must have been halfway across the city when he was forced out of his daze by a familiar, distant explosion. He recognized it immediately as one of Kacchan’s powerful reason spells, but why would it be happening? Except, Kacchan was classed as a Brigand right now, and he wasn’t allowed to cast spells outside of school.

Feeling a sense of dread, Izuku ran towards the sounds. As he approached, he saw a crowd gathered, and he quickly pushed through. In front of him he saw the strange, incorporeal beast he had encountered before, but this time with his childhood friend-turned-bully in its clutches instead.

In a way, it made sense the beast was drawn to Kachhan, since he probably had the most divine blood around, with a major Crest of Fraldarius. Though it still didn’t make sense, Crests were supposed to calm Crest Stones, even without being compatible with them, so why was it trying to take Kacchan?

Izuku shook his head, interrupting his own thoughts. He needed to do something. The Fraldarius guard was already there, but they were just doing… nothing. Watching as their lord drowned in the black sludge.

Izuku felt his feet move before he could think. Luckily, before he reached the beast, he noticed the glowing red Crest Stone peeking out of the sludge. Drawing his sword, he threw it at the Stone with all his might, watching it crack very slightly under the blow. 

It was enough. The sludge recoiled a bit, letting the other boy take a few valuable breaths before Izuku was on him, pulling him out of the sludge. In the end, his efforts were in vain though, and the sludge once again enveloped both him and Kacchan.

* * *

Toshinori felt bad about the boy, he truly did. He understood the pain of being born Crestless in the noble system that deemed you useless without one. Even though he had been born a commoner before his tenure with the Knights, it was nearly impossible to get noticed without holy blood, and that went double as a noble. 

However, the boy was clearly unskilled for his age, and with a noble’s education that meant he was probably unmotivated. Toshinori couldn’t let the boy injure himself by clinging to fantasies of being a Knight of Seiros if he had no motivation.

He heard a harsh noise in the distance and immediately made his way towards it. After all, even if he was out of time, he might be able to help in some other way, no matter how small. When he arrived, however, he saw something far worse than he had anticipated. The demonic beast he had been searching for, made by dark Agarthan technology, had the hold of a noble boy. He must have dropped it when that kid clung to him.

The boy in question was trying to free himself by shooting massive Fire spells into the beast’s body, to little success. Even without any skill in Reason magic, Toshinori could see the boy was powerful, but for some reason neglected to include the standard safety mechanisms in his spells, causing his powerful fire to go everywhere. This was clearly preventing his guard from interfering, not that they’d be able to do much against the powerful dark magic of the beast.

A small figure tore through the crowd, and he recognized it as the boy from before. Watching in horror, Toshinori couldn’t believe his eyes as the child threw his sword at the beast, trying in vain to free the other man. He saw the Crest Stone crack, but both boys get devoured nonetheless.

He had to do something. Donning his gauntlets, Toshinori--no, All Might-- charged the beast. Aiming for the stone--of course, why hadn’t he thought of that-- he threw a massive Smash, his ultimate Combat Art. The stone shattered on impact, causing the sludge to dissipate. 

“Do not worry, for I AM HERE!” he bellowed. It might be overkill, since the danger was already gone, but the people need a symbol. The surrounding commoners flocked towards him, and distantly he saw the two boys being lectured by the guards. Both looked unhappy, but safe. He turned back to the people to reassure them, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the green-haired boy slip away.

Quickly gathering the broken shards of the Crest Stone (which were still highly dangerous), Toshinori escaped the crowds, and rapidly tracked the boy to an empty street.

“Wait my boy! Allow me to--” Toshinori coughed blood as his body realized he was no longer in danger and let go of his powered form. The boy swung around, startled. “My apologies, I did not mean to startle you.”

For the first time, Toshinori truly looked at the boy. He had noticed him earlier, of course, but only now did he take in the details: a cheap, leather sword belt, a ragged Myrmidon uniform, and most notably, a gleam in his intelligent eyes. He had made a mistake, he realized, and an old one at that. This was not an unmotivated, rich noble who was angry life wasn’t handed to his despite lacking a Crest; this was a boy from a poor family, who didn’t even had the reassurance of blood, who was likely mocked and pitied for his Crestlessness, but endured despite it, pushing forward.

Absently, Toshinori realized the boy had been mumbling some apology about the incident, but Toshininori cut him off. “My boy, I want to thank you. I had run out of time, and forgot how to save people even without my power. But you rushed in, and were brave where I was not”

“It was nothing!” the boy reassured, nervous. “I swear, I didn’t even think, my body moved before my mind!”

Toshinori knew then, he had a successor. “My boy, I was wrong before. You can become a Knight. You have the heart of a true noble.”

The boy burst into tears. Clearly that was something he needed to work on.

“And moreover,” Toshinori continued, “I will help you. I deem you worthy of inheriting my Crest!”

* * *

**Galatea Territory, Kingdom of Faerghus, Fódlan. Imperial Year 1038**  
Ten month, many extended questions, and a truly massive amount of farming later, Izuku stood with approximately 5,000 potatoes at his feet. He yelled in joy. The farming had been to help him gain muscle, and to “teach him the value of the commoner,” as though he hadn’t grown up poor and hungry due to the infertile nature of Galatea land.

“Well done, my boy!” Izuku whirled around to see his mentor (All Might was his mentor!) in his depowered form. “To be honest, I wasn’t expecting you to be able to succeed!” Well, that hurt a little, but fair. “As I’m sure you know, the Officer’s Academy’s entrance exam is in a week, and you’ll need to leave today if you want to arrive on time. Since I won’t see you before then, it’s time for you to inherit my Crest.”

Izuku perked up. All Might had told him about the mysterious One for All Crest ten months ago, and how it could be passed on even without Divine intervention. It seemed impossible, but he was grateful nonetheless.

“Alright,” Izuku said, looking his mentor (All Might was his mentor!) in the eyes, “how do you transfer it? Crests are carried through blood, so will we have to do some sort of blood transfer? I hope it isn’t blood magic, that always --”

“Eat this!” All Might was holding a hair. His mentor (All Might was his mentor!) wanted him to eat his hair. “No blood necessary, though I have no idea why! You just need to eat this hair and my Crest will be yours!”

Izuku had to think about his dream, how difficult it would be to enter the Officer’s Acedemy without this, and how much he’d wanted a Crest all his life. Somehow, this was worse than blood transfusion, or even blood magic. 

Hesitantly, he took the hair, and, with his eyes closed and his willpower forcing him, swallowed the hair.

* * *

**UA Monastery, Fódlan’s Center, Fódlan. Imperial Year 1038**  
A week later, Izuku still wasn’t sure if All Might had actually given him the power, or was just messing with him. That would have been a very cruel, extended prank, and All Might didn’t seem like the type, but the thought was there. Crests only manifested during battle, so until the exam it would be impossible to tell if he could do anything. 

Now that he thought about it, what was One for All supposed to do? Some Crests could make spells more powerful, or enhance complicated weapon attacks known as combat arts more powerful, or some could even help with healing magic! But All Might was able to do all or none of those things, depending on who you asked. What did it even do? Well, he supposed Crests activate randomly, so he shouldn’t worry--

In his thoughts, Izuku didn’t even notice the crack in the road in front of him, and he tripped, starting to fall, and--

Something caught him. A lance caught him. “Sorry about that,” said the wielder of said lance, a girl with short brown hair and pink cheeks. “Usually I try not to brandish weapons at people I don’t know, but it seemed like bad luck to let you fall.” The girl artfully pulled him up before storing the lance on her back. “Good luck on the exam!”

She skipped away, leaving Izuku shell shocked in her wake. Gathering himself mentally, Izuku made his way towards the building. He saw Kacchan, who had been ignoring him since the demonic beast incident almost a year ago, and wisely avoided his line of sight.

An hour later, Izuku stood on a large field with the other examinees. In front of them massive mechanical beasts loomed. When Present Mic (another Knight of Seiros! So cool!) had said they’d be fighting Golems, he hadn’t expected giant, monstrous women made out of metal.

“Begin! Do you think battles have a warning!” 

Disoriented, Izuku charged with the other examinees, his sword drawn. He approached one of the Golems tentatively, but it swung it’s lance made of pure light -- how did that work? That’s some really impressive magic, you’d have to distill -- not the time.

Izuku narrowly dodged, but before he could counterattack, a Thoron spell rushed past him, decimating the machine. “You’re welcome for saving you!” cried the boy who had cast the spell, before laughing and running off.

For the next several minutes, Izuku tried in vain to defeat the creatures, with little to no luck. Every time he tried to rush one, another prospective student would be faster and destroy it. Then, with one minute left, the ground started to rumble, and from the nearby forest a huge Golem appeared. 

“That’s an Altered Golem!” yelled the voice of Present Mic over the din. “Immune to magic and with much better defenses than you kids can handle. I’d suggest running!”

In fact, most of the students were, but a shout of pain stopped Izuku from doing the same. Looking over, he saw the girl who had caught him earlier, desperately trying to free her downed pegasus, which was trapped under a fallen tree.

Izuku wouldn’t get any points but. He knew he needed to help.

* * *

**Galatea Territory, Kingdom of Faerghus, Fódlan. Imperial Year 1038**  
One robot was not enough to get him into the best academy on the continent. Technically, he hadn’t heard back yet, but he knew. He was a failure. He couldn’t even wield the Crest of One for All, it had broken his bones, and Crests were not supposed to do that! He heard occasional soreness, fatigue, weapons breaking, or other minor physical effects of Crests, but never actual, personal harm. 

Izuku heard a shouting at the door of their small hold. Rushing over, he saw the messenger give his mother a letter with the seal of the Church of Seiros. He grabbed the letter from her, rushing to his room to read it. 

“Thank you for your application,” the letter read. “You only defeated one Golem, which would not normally allow you entrance, despite its Altered enhancements. However, one of your fellow examinees, Uraraka Ochako, came to us to try and allow you her points. We denied her, but decided to investigate your case. Due to the bravery you’ve shown and your shockingly powerful Crest, we have decided to allow you entry. You will be in the Black Eagles house, please arrive at UA Monastery on the date below with your belongings. Welcome to the Officer’s Academy! Signed, Nedzu, Archbishop of the Church of Seiros.”


	3. Clear Skies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day of school is always difficult, especially at a school for literal child soldiers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Below is a practically unreadable chart of all the gameplay mechanics I decided to think about for each character since I hate doing real work. 
> 
> Sorry the chapter is so short and boring.  
> ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
> | Character | Alignment | Crest | Personal Ability | Class | Strengths | Weaknesses |  
> | Midoriya Izuku | Kingdom (Noble) | One for All (M) | Aptitude | Myrmidon | Swords, Reason, Faith, Brawl, Authority (Budding) | Axe, Bow, Lance, Riding, Heavy Armor |  
> | Bakugo Katsuki | Kingdom (Noble) | Fraldarius (M) | Wrath | Brigand | Axes, Lances, Brawl, Reason, Flying | Faith, Authority |  
> | Todoroki Shouto | Empire (Prince) | Seiros (m), Gloucester (M) | Lone Wolf | Warlock | Reason, Faith, Bow, Sword (Budding) | Axe, Brawl |  
> | Uraraka Ochako | Alliance (Commoner) | Lamine (m) | Zero Gravity | Pegasus Knight | Lance, Flying, Faith, Brawl (Budding) | Axe |  
> | Iida Tenya | Kingdom (Prince) | Blaiddyd (m) | Engines | Cavalier | Lance, Riding, Authority, Heavy Armor, Axe (Budding) | Brawl, Flying |  
> | Kirishima Eijiro | Kingdom (Commoner) | None | Staunch Shield | Armor Knight | Axe, Brawl, Heavy Armor | Reason, Flying |  
> | Yaoyorozu Momo | Alliance (Noble) | Reigan (M) | Mastermind | Lord | Sword, Lance, Bow, Reason, Faith, Authority | Brawl, Riding |  
> | Asui Tsuyu | Alliance (Commoner) | None | Terrain Resistance | Tanguel (Frog) | ---- | ---- |  
> | Ashido Mina | Empire (Commoner) | None | Poison | Thief | Sword, Bow | Reason, Axe |  
> | Jirou Kyoka | Empire (Noble) | Indech (m) | Songstress | Archer | Bow, Lance, Riding | Sword |  
> | Kaminari Denki | Alliance (Noble) | Charon (m) | Catnip | Mercenary | Sword, Axe | Reason, Faith |  
> | Sero Hanta | Kingdom (Commoner) | None | Acrobat | Mercenary | Sword, Lance | Reason |  
> | Ojiro Mashirao | Kingdom (Commoner) | None | Born Fighter | Brawler | Sword, Brawl, Lance | Flying |  
> | Koda Koji | Alliance (Commoner) | Cethleann (m) | Animal Friend | Priest | Faith, Riding, Flying | Sword, Brawl |  
> | Aoyama Yuga | Empire (Noble) | Cichol (m) | Confidence | Mage | Reason, Faith | Axe |  
> | Sato Rikido | Empire (Commoner) | None | Goody Basket | Brawler | Brawl, Faith | Lance, Bow |  
> | Shoji Mezo | Alliance (Noble) | Goneril (m) | Multiarms | Brigand | Axe, Brawl, Lance | Riding |  
> | Tokoyami Fumikage | Empire (Noble) | Macuil (M) | Familiar | Dark Mage | Dark Magic, Authority, Flying, Lance (Budding) | Faith |  
> | Hagakure Tooru | Alliance (Commoner) | Ernest (m) | Pass | Thief | Sword, Faith | Bow |  
> \---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**UA Monastery, Fódlan’s Center, Fódlan. Imperial Year 1038**  
It’s normal to be stressed on the first day of school, right? Especially when said school is the most competitive on the continent, and everyone there is probably really talented and can actually fight without breaking their bones, and he only got in because of a Crest that isn’t really his and --

Izuku walks directly into a door. Okay, so he needs to calm down a bit, it’s fine if it’s only one of the most important days of school, and he has a Crest now, so he’ll have friends and teachers who don’t hate him and he’ll be useful. It’s not like they’re going to expel him on the first day, right?  
Somehow, he actually manages to find his way to the massive doorway labeled with the crest of an eagle over it: the Black Eagle House. 

“-disrespect everything this great establishment stood for! The Black Eagle House is the oldest standing establishment at UA, and you sully it by, by, by… putting your feet on the desks!” Izuku blinked at the stern voice. The voice was unfamiliar, but what it was describing sounded like something Kacchan would do.

“No one fucking asked you, you elitist fucking piece of shit!” Yep, definitely Kacchan.

Taking a steadying breath, Izuku braced himself and walked into the classroom. In front of him stood a blue haired man (noble, by his glasses, no commoners can afford those) waving an arm almost dangerously at Kacchan, who, unsurprisingly, sat with his feet up on the desk. A large group of students in the Officer’s Academy’s uniforms were milling around them, though many were watching the spectacle with curiosity.

“Deku?! What the fuck are you doing here you piece of --” 

“Oh, is your name Deku? I’m Uraraka Ochako!” piped a new but familiar voice. Izuku turned around to see the girl whom he had saved in the entrance exam.

“Uh, actually my name is Mi--”

“Sit down, all of you,” commanded a deep voice from seemingly out of nowhere. Recognizing the authority in the unseen person, everyone scrambled to their desks. “Hm. Eleven seconds. Needs improvement.” The source of the voice then dropped from the ceiling, then continued his stride like he had walked off a small step. “My name is Aizawa Shouta, and I’ll be your primary professor for the year.”

The name sounded familiar to Izuku, but he couldn’t quite place it. Examining the man, he realized his bizarre outfit was a slightly modified set Trickster armor, though what at first looked like a scart seemed to be connected to something unseen. Could it be some extra protection? It didn’t look like it could cover much defensively, but it was unlikely to be a weapon. Maybe it was--

“Put on your armor and meet me at the training grounds. We’re doing an evaluation.”

* * *

Shouta was tired. Granted, he was usually tired, as his covert missions for the Knights of Seiros were exhausting and sleep often evaded him on the best of nights, but he was especially tired because of these _goddess damned spoiled children_. 

Most of them were fine, much better than last year’s bunch, and a few were even exceptional. The Riegan girl, Yaoyorozu Momo, was shaping up to be ridiculously skilled in nearly everything. 

Others, however, were problematic. The Fraldarius kid, Bakugo Katsuki, clearly had some anger issues and a superiority complex, but he also had the skills to back it up, while the Todoroki prince obviously had something going on, though it was difficult to say what exactly it was. The worst, however, was the Galatea noble, Midoriya Izuku.

Shouta had fought hard to keep the kid out. Nedzu in his great, goddess-given wisdom had overridden him because of his oh-so-special Crest despite the fact that 1) it blew him up, 2) he was only a Myrmidon, while the rest of the applicants were at least Intermediate classes (Todoroki was even at Advanced) and 3) was simply unskilled in the exam. Shouta hated nobles who rode by casually on their Crest and power, and he was ready to expel this insolent child.

Which brought him back to the tests. As is standard, they were evaluating each student’s affinity for all the weapons and skills that UA taught. Shouta, seeing an opportunity, decreed that the student with the fewest net positive skills would be expelled. As predicted, Midoriya was in last. 

Unexpectedly, however, was the reason why. Shouta had expected the boy to simply have no skills, since he couldn’t even make it up to a higher class. Instead, the boy excelled in swords, brawling, and even both forms of magic, technically giving him some of the most versatile options in his class. However, he was abysmal at pretty much everything else. This contradiction interested Shouta, but clearly that just meant the boy was even more of a slacker than he thought, if he wasn’t even training his potential. 

For the final test, he brought them out to a nearby field, where several mercenary bands were waiting, having been hired for the day. “Listen all of you,” Shouta began, “our final test will be for Authority. You’ll each be commanding a small battalion of mercenaries and you will be spread across the field. You’ll be directing them to fight, but no entering the battle yourself. They know the requirements for being tagged out, but act as though you are commanding them in a real battle. You’ll have five minutes to prepare. I’ll be watching.”

Shouta looked on as the various students spoke to their mercenaries. Iida, Yaoyorozu, and Todoroki would be the natural assumptions for the best in this area, and while he believed the first two would do well, he couldn’t shake the feeling that Todoroki would not live up to his heritage in this respect.

When the battle started, Shouta’s predictions continued to be correct: Bakugo got out almost immediately, while Iida and Yaoyorozu quickly began to lead with gusto, eliminating teams left and right. Surprisingly, Tokoyami Fumikage, a Dark Mage student from the Arundel family, also seemed to be excelling, though he was not as charming as the royals. Out of the corner of his eye, Shouta noticed Midoriya split his men as they waited in the trees. Interesting, but likely foolish.

Battalions fell further and further until only about nine -- half the original number -- were left, with Yaoyorozu and Iida still leading the charge. Then, out of the blue, three battalions were out in rapid succession. Midoriya had used his split battalion to effortlessly sweep through the edges of the battlefield, herding several others as well. 

Shouta’s eyes widened; he recognized that maneuver. It was an old, almost forgotten one used by the ancient King Loog in a minor but strategically noteworthy battle almost 200 years ago. Older students studied it in their later years at the Academy, but for Midoriya to already be using it to his advantage at his age…

The strategy continued as he expected, with the battalion reforming to wipe out the herded mercenaries. This left only him and Yaoyorozu, who had noticed the plan and moved her troops accordingly. With only two teams left, the Riegan heir once again showed her aptitude by quickly commanding her battalion to exploit Midoriya’s lack of charm, easily claiming victory. Though his strategy was clever and effective, he was clearly having trouble actually commanding his troops effectively. 

Not a full strength in Authority then, but perhaps a budding talent. Shouta examined Midoriya again, thinking over the events of the day. Now that he thought about it, Midoriya’s attempts seemed desperate, rather than effortless. He had a spark in his eye that Shouta had seen many times, but had never noticed in a noble with a powerful Crest. It was a spark that always signaled a drive to be better, no matter the odds.

Perhaps Midoriya did have some potential.

* * *

Looking at the results of the aptitude evaluations, Izuku felt like crying. He was going to be expelled on the first day because he was terrible at everything. Oh goddess, why did All Might believe in him, he was a failure, clearly he couldn’t do anything right. Now he really was crying, damn it. He didn’t deserve a Crest or even a --

“No one is expelled. It was a logical ruse. You’re all dismissed for the day, you have free access to the grounds. You should all know where your dorms are.” With that, Aizawa left unceremoniously without another word, leaving the class in shock, before it erupted into chaos.

After several minutes of everyone trying to understand what happened (and of Izuku quietly overcoming a panic attack because _thank the goddess he’s not expelled_ ), the blue haired student from the beginning of class managed to force everyone back into silence and order.

“This is unbefitting of students of the Officer’s Academy!” he yelled, gesturing wildly. “You should all be ashamed!”

“Uh, sorry,” mumbled a pink-haired girl (who was classed as a Thief, if Izuku remembered correctly). Several others echoed the statement. 

“So now that that’s over,” began a boy with spiky red hair (Heavy Armor Knight, noted Izuku), “what do we do now? I’m thinking, Aizawa said we could do whatever, right? So, maybe we could get to know each other better?”

“That sounds like a great idea, Kirishima!” yelled a blonde (Mercenary) kid. “Let’s all go around and say a few things about ourselves! What do you think, Blasty?”

“Fuck off you shitty extras! And stop calling me that, my fire spells are perfect!” Kacchan screamed as he stormed melodramatically out of the classroom. 

After a moment of silence, Izuku decided he might as well tell them about Kacchan, since he happened to have that information: “That was Bakugo Katsuki. He’s the heir to the Fraldarius territory and title. We grew up together, and he’s great at pretty much everything!”

“And who are you?” asked the blue haired boy.

“Oh, right, uh, I’m Midoriya Izuku! I’m from the Galatea territory, but from a less influential branch, so my cousin will inherit most of the land and power. My dream is to be a Knight of Seiros and save as many people as I can!” Most of the others nodded their heads enthusiastically as everyone started to full desks into a circle formation.

“That’s so manly dude, I’ll go next! My name is Kirishima Eijiro. I’m from a blacksmith family in Faerghus. Even though I don’t have a Crest, I wanna be just like the old Great Knight known as Crimson Riot!”

One by one, each of the students introduced themselves, and Izuku made sure to commit all their names (and classes and backgrounds) to memory. A few of the introductions stood out; most notably, the heir the Yaoyorozu family, who ran the Leicester Alliance, and the heir to the Adrestian Empire were both in his class. One of the others, however, was fascinating for a different reason.

“My name is Asui Tsuyu, but please call me Tsuyu. I’m not part of the standard curriculum, since I’m one of the last Taguel. I can shapeshift into a giant Frog, and I’m here to learn how to protect my siblings, kero.” Izuku’s eyes widened. He didn’t even know there were amphibious Taguel, or even that there were any in Fodlan! He thought they were mostly hunted down to extinction, and that those who weren’t moved to --

“You’re correct, Midoriya. My family is among the last in Fodlan,” interrupted Tsuyu, cutting off Izuku’s rant. He blushed, embarrassed at having said such sensitive things out loud.

“That’s very noble Asui--uh, Tsuyu! Or, rather, uh, virtuous, since you aren’t noble?” said the blue haired boy nervously. “Anyway, my name is Iida Tenya, and it is my duty to be the paragon of nobility! My horse Ingenium and I will make sure everyone is well taken care of!”

“Wait, Iida?” cried Izuku. “Like, Iida of the Blaiddyd line? Does that mean you’re the Prince of Faerghus?” Oh god, he’d offended royalty. Sure, he’d probably offended Todoroki and Yaoyorozu, but they were foreign royalty, and Yaoyorozu not even. But Iida was directly above him in the Faerghus class structure, so he could condemn his family, his mother would starve and it would be all Izuku’s fault --

“Please, there is no need for alarm!” yelled Iida, seemingly distressed for some reason. “My older brother is the heir, which is why I am here to learn to fight for my Kingdom! I have no power over you” -- Izuku knew this was false, but let it go -- “and I hope you will treat me as an equal!”

Everyone smiled at Iida proudly for his declaration, with Uraraka even patting him firmly on the back. Some of the Empire students looked towards Todoroki for a similar declaration, but unfortunately found none. 

“Uh, quick question,” began one of the Alliance nobles (Kaminari, Izuku recalled), “why is there royalty from all three countries in one house? Aren’t the houses supposed to be divided by nation?”

Izuku opened his mouth to answer, but was beaten to it by Yaoyorozu: “They used to be, but after the Kingdom and Alliance leaders almost went to war over a debate of who won a mock battle in their school days about 50 years ago, the Church decided to mix the classes.” 

Everyone continued to talk for a while longer about their aspirations (“I want to be a mercenary and get rich to help my parents!” proclaimed Uraraka), skills (“I’m strong with magic, but, uh, not really good at learning it, so I still with Levin swords and the like,” confessed Kaminari), and even some personal quirks (“I long to find the answers to the questions of the universe,” admitted a boy who had never taken off his Dark Mage plague mask named Tokoyami). Finally, everyone agreed that it was time to find the dorms, and they all headed towards their rooms.

“Wait up, Deku!” yelled Uraraka as Izuku made his way towards the nobles’ rooms upstairs. Izuku suppressed a flinch at the cruel nickname.

“Uh, could you not call me that? Kacchan gave it to me as an insult.”

“Really? I think it sounds cute! Like, ‘you can do it’!”

“Uh, in that case, go ahead!”

Iida just watched on, looking sad.

“Well,” Uraraka began, “I think it’s gonna be a great year!”

* * *

**???, Under the Leicester Alliance, Fódlan. Imperial Year 1038**  
Shigaraki Tomura felt excited as he turned the Knight to dust with his magic. “Did you hear the Kurogiri? We can finally pin down that wretched All Might.”

“Patience, my student,” came a voice from the throne high above. “I believe we must plan accordingly. We wouldn’t want to show the true might of Agartha too early, now would we?”

Sensei was right. Tomura scratched his neck, lost in thought. “Zanado,” he finally said. “We’ll strike at Zanado.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will probably be pretty short and not very interesting, sorry folks. On the bright side, it should some faster since it'll be short, and the chapter after that is where things will (hopefully) start being interesting. In the meantime, I'm always open to constructive criticism!


	4. A Second Class

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku discovers a new path for him to tread.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: next chapter will be short  
> also me: *writes chapter that is twice as long as intended*

Shouta couldn’t believe he had to deal with this on the second day of classes. “Tell me, All Might, what exactly happened in your ‘training exercise’ that left one of my students in critical condition when they _aren’t supposed to be engaging in serious combat?_ ” 

“Uh, well, you see…” the taller man just sort of trailed off, clearly not wanting to face the wrath of an angry teacher.

“Yes, I must second Aizawa’s question, Yagi,” calmly and cheerfully stated Nedzu. The Archbishop had always involved himself directly with the Officer’s Academy, but Shouta had no idea why he seemed so invested in this particular case. Regardless, Shouta appreciated the added pressure on the Captain of the Knights. Though All Might was technically his commanding officer, the man was irresponsible and did little to actually lead the holy warriors, instead choosing to do everything on his own and let others clean up his messes.

“Well, it started with the exercise I had planned: I split the students into teams of two, and teams were pitted against each other,” explained the blonde War Master. “The defending team would hold a bridge in the mock fortress, and the offensive team would act as an infiltration team to bring down the bridge.”

Shouta was actually impressed. The scenario was realistic while still justifying small teams; most battles were actually based around capturing forts, so it made sense to have a lesson on defending and attacking access points to allow larger armies to enter a fortress. “How did you guide them?” Shouta asked. “What tactics did you begin with?” Maybe All Might actually could be a good professor. 

“It’s best to learn by experience, so I threw them directly into combat!”

Never mind.

“Please continue, Yagi,” demanded Nedzu before Shouta could yell at the buffoon. Why was he still so cheerful? Students had been put in danger by an idiot!

“Yes, well, the first match was Iida and Bakugo defending against Uraraka and Young Midoriya. Granted, I didn’t know Bakugo and Midoriya had such… severe history, or else I would not have paired them together.” Well the thought was nice, Shouta supposed, but too little too late. “I allowed them access to all of their requested weapons as well, though in hindsight that may have been a poor decision.”

Shouta felt rage build in his chest once again. The only thing keeping him from murdering All Might was Nedzu’s silent glare and the fact that he’d probably have to deal with a bunch of upset nobles. Goddess, he hated nobles.

“Anyway,” All Might continued, oblivious to how close he was to joining the ranks of the dead, “everything started fine, though Bakugo was hardly a good team player. Things started to deteriorate once Young Midoriya and Bakugo began fighting…”

* * *

“You think you’re too good to fight me, Deku? I bet you’ll like this then,” yelled Bakugo, pulling a larger axe than his normal silver one from his back. “I’m not technically allowed to use magic while I’m in this dumbass Intermediate class, but this Bolt Axe will allow me to tap into my magical potential.”

Toshinori’s eyes widened, remembering the destruction Bakugo had caused with his magic all those months ago. “Young Bakugo,” he shouted, “you are not permitted to use that weapon against another student!” 

“It won’t hurt him if he dodges!”

* * *

“...needless to say, it did not end well. Though Young Midoriya withstood the first attack, Bakugo performed a Combat Art for his second assault, and with Midoriya’s Crest activated to counter, well, Young Midoriya was quite injured. In the end, Young Uraraka pulled the victory for the team, so Midoriya’s distraction was not in vain!”

Shouta, once again, was fuming. Midoriya had broken his arm and three ribs and sustained severe, life threatening injuries on his second day of classes, and All Might had the audacity to say it was good because he won an exercise! He was ready to expel All Might from teaching. Yes, he technically didn’t have that power, but he would find a way. 

“Toshinori, I understand you tend to be rather… flippant with injuries,” Nedzu contributed, clearly equally disappointed with All Might, “but please remember that 17-year-olds should not be held to the same standards as your Knights. His victory was inconsequential in relation to the injuries he received.”

All Might had the audacity to look shocked, and looked like he was going to interrupt -- and Shouta certainly was -- but Nedzu cut in once again. “Regardless, we will discuss this later. For now, let’s discuss what to do about Midoriya.”

All Might had clearly not been expecting that. “What do you mean? He performed admirably.”

“Giving yourself grave injuries in practice is not admirable, it’s foolish,” Shouta interjected. “I’ve half a mind to just expel him. I already would have if I didn’t see some potential in the kid.”

“Let’s bring him in then,” suggested Nedzu before All Might could counter Shouta. “I think I may have a good solution.”

* * *

Honestly, Izuku felt like he’d had so many panic attacks in the last few days that he was becoming desensitized to them. First almost getting expelled, then being paired against Kacchan, then Kacchan almost killing him, then Kacchan accusing him of hiding a Crest… huh, a lot of his panic seems to stem from Kacchan. Probably a coincidence.

Anyway, getting summons from the Archbishop of Fodlan topped all of that. Izuku had obviously never met the Archbishop, but he had heard much about him; he was said to be a laguz, a creature from far off lands who were half-human half-animal, similar to the Taguel but less monstrous. There were rumors that he had been brought to Fodlan by a group of mages who experimented on him, but he escaped. It was even said the goddess gave him a Crest for his suffering and holiness, despite being laguz. 

No matter where he came from, he was undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with. Though he never took to the battlefield himself, his strategies and political finesse allowed him to elevate himself to claim one of the most powerful positions in the world. It was under his leadership that All Might became Captain of the Knights and the Church of Seiros became the dominant power for the first time in centuries. Basically, being summoned by him on the second day of school was terrifying.

As Izuku entered the chamber, he was startled to see Aizawa and a depowered All Might already sitting. Cautiously, he examined the surprisingly sparse office, before noting the Archbishop himself: Nedzu looked mostly human with white hair and a short, mousy figure in relatively modest green and white robes. However, there was nothing human about the mouse ears sitting on top of his head, or the intelligent black eyes grinning at him, the right one scarred over.

Realizing he had just been maintaining eye contact with the most powerful person in Fodlan, Izuku quickly averted his eyes to the floor. “Your Holiness, you called for me?”

“Please, Midoriya, no need for such formalities, those stuffy titles make me sound so… noble. Please call me Nedzu.” The Archbishop was definitely more terrifying in person. Izuku could tell that he was trying to lower Izuku’s guard, but he was not going to buy that this man was anywhere near harmless.

“I couldn’t possibly, Archbishop,” Izuku managed to get through, hoping he wasn’t going to be beheaded. Luckily, Nedzu seemed content with that. Perhaps, Izuku thought, he even looked pleased. 

“Very well then. I’ll get straight to the point Midoriya: you need to reclass. Your Myrmidon class restricts you.” All Might and Aizawa both looked startled. Whatever they had discussed before, it was not this. “Now, based on your examinations from yesterday, you are clearly skilled with swords, which is always good… but you also seem to have an affinity for magic. Why haven’t you classed into a mage or priest class? Surely with your intellect those would be easier than relying on swordplay?”

“Ah, well,” began Izuku, “I do find magic rather interesting. Unfortunately, up until recently I didn’t have a lot of magical power, so it was hard for me to cast for complex combat spells; the best I can do is a solid Wind spell. Obviously that isn’t enough to make me a mage, so I started to look into other kinds of spells, the ones that aren’t as useful in combat. In particular, I find area-covering spells fascinating, the things you can do with magical residences is --” Izuku cut himself off, suddenly aware that he had been rambling in front of several holy figures.

Instead of looking annoyed, however, Nedzu was ecstatic. “I completely agree. As a laguz, I am unable to perform any magic, but I’ve always personally had an affinity towards large scale restrictive spells. However, I disagree that they aren’t useful for combat. Can you tell me a potential use of a signal-alarm spell?”

“Well,” Izuku began, quickly changing gears from terrified to thoughtful, “most spells of that variety take too long to set up and are too difficult for most Warlocks to be fully practical in battles, but it could help you control the field. For example, a mage could set up the spell behind an allied army to alert for any pincer attacks and turn the tides against an ambush.”

“Exactly! And do you know how to cast such a spell?”

“Yes, I know the basic casting of most known area detection spells--” Izuku stopped, worried about where the Archbishop was going. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Aizawa and All Might looked similarly concerned. 

“I think I have a perfect class for you then! Of course, the Mercenary class would be the obvious choice coming from a Myrmidon background, but that would ignore your talent for magic, and you aren’t quite skilled enough to be a Mage. However, I happen to know a class that might just work.” Nedzu moved to a bookshelf on the side of the study, skimming titles before pulling out an old, dusty book written in a language that Izuku didn’t recognize. “Yes, right here. ‘Tactician: wielding Tomes and Swords, this class focuses on outmaneuvering their enemies through strategy and skill.’”

“I’ve never heard of that class,” interrupted Aizawa. “Hell, I’ve never heard of a modern class that still uses Tomes.” 

“Tomes?” All Might asked.

“Yes,” answered Nedzu, “Tomes are books of magic that can also act as foci for casting spells. They’re popular on other continents, but Fodlan’s magic system allows for a more personal approach to magic. However, they are still available, and many classes use Staves to utilize Faith magic, which is rather similar. And yes, Aizawa, it is rather obscure, but perfectly legitimate. This class will help Midoriya continue his experiences with swords while allowing him to learn magic, and on top of that cultivate his budding talent for Authority that you noticed. That is, of course, if he passes the Certification exam.”

“Very well,” conceded Aizawa, “that is rather logical. What do you think, Midoriya?”

“Me?” squealed Izuku.

“Yes you, it’s your future.”

“Oh,” Izuku stated, confused. He’d never been asked what he thought before, even when All Might offered his power. “Well, that does sound rather interesting. I’d love to learn more about magic, especially in a tactical setting.”

“Excellent!” cried Nedzu, “The Certification exam will be held next week. You will be tested for swords, beginning Reason magic with a Tome, and strategy, both on paper and on the training grounds. Study well!”

Izuku nodded. He rose, taking that as his cue to leave, but Nedzu interrupted: “Ah, of course, however, Aizawa is unfamiliar with how Tacticians are trained. While he is still more than qualified to teach in all other areas of your education… I am the only one who will be able to teach you how to be a master Tactician.”

Aizawa and All Might both looked vaguely horrified at this. “You can’t mean --”

“Yes, I believe I must take Midoriya on as a personal student should he pass. If he agrees, of course.”

Like that was even a choice. “Of course, I’d be honored sir! Though, I don’t think I’m important enough to take up your time…”

Aizawa looked like he had seen a gruesome death just play out, and Izuku wondered if perhaps he should have thought it out more. 

“Oh you aren’t any trouble,” reassured Nedzu. “In fact, I think I’ll rather enjoy teaching a student again.”

* * *

Shouto didn’t understand what all the fuss was about. A week ago they had had their first practical lesson with All Might, and a student -- Midoriya, he remembered, for some reason -- had been gravely injured. Shouto couldn’t really understand why everyone was so shaken; his father’s training had been far more brutal for many years, and while his father was a cruel bastard he figured the other nobles would have had something somewhat similar.

Regardless, there had been no more practicals since, as Aizawa had returned, furious at Bakugo and the exercise as a whole. All of it had been theoretical lessons and skill training: easy, but thankfully not painful. Shouto was almost bored.

But now Shouto was sitting in the training grounds, watching a Certification Exam for the same student who had been so injured. Midoriya stood out to Shouto simply because he was so powerful yet so unskilled; while Shouto was in the Advanced Warlock class, even in possession of the Hero’s Relic Thyrsus, Midoriya was still a Beginning Myrmidon. That was the only reason he noticed Midoriya, he told himself. Definitely not because he was pretty.

Now, however, Midoriya was taking an exam for a strange class that Shouto (and everyone else) had never heard of. Even Yaoyorozu had never heard of it, and Shouto secretly believed she knew everything. 

Shouto watched as Midoriya began. His opponents were three Knights in training: a Mercenary, a Cavalier, and a Heavy Armor Knight. Interesting, thought Shouto. A common foot soldier, a mounted unit, and an armored unit, and one of each basic weapon. Perfect for assessing tactics in close combat battle.

At the sound of the bell, Midoriya charged the Cavalier, who clearly was expecting him to stay out of range, as the sword-wielder had a disadvantage against lances. Instead of targeting the rider, however, he ducked under the horse, pulling its leg and toppling its rider to the ground. The move was clever, with Midoriya taking advantage of his greater speed and close range mobility. The message was clear: in a real battle, the horse would be dead. 

After quickly disarming the now useless lancer, Midoriya jumped back, just missing a swing from the sword-wielding Mercenary. Taking a moment, he evaluated the Mercenary and the Heavy Armor Knight, who had moved behind him. Shouto could admit that the situation did not look advantageous for Midoriya; of course, Shouto would be able to simply freeze both of them with a Blizzard spell, but Midoriya was evidently less powerful.

Without warning, the Mercenary charged, and Midoriya responded by jumping back… with his back directly towards the Heavy Armor Knight. Shouto winced, and prepared himself for the failure. Instead, the Knight was clearly surprised, and fumbled with his axe. By the time he swung it at Midoriya, the Mercenary had caught up with another swing, trapping Midoriya between two blows. 

Then, at the last possible second, Midoriya dodged to the side and backwards. It was in no way an elegant move, but somehow he pulled it off without being hit. In fact, the two enemy blows collided, with both opponents looking worse for it. Pushing his advantage, Midoriya positioned himself behind the armored foe, taking advantage of his lessened mobility by keeping him between himself and the Mercenary.

With his new human barrier protecting him from the faster Mercenary, Midoriya wore down the Armored Knight, eventually defeating him. With only one opponent left, Midoriya’s skills now lay in his swordplay. 

Or so Shouto thought; instead, Midoriya then uncovered a Tome. Shouto had not seen a Tome since he was a child, when he used them briefly before casting on his own spells, having been told that they were inferior to natural casting. However, Midoriya successfully used the Elwind Tome to attack his close-ranged opponent at a distance, finally finishing him off.

With that, Midoriya passed. Shouto took a moment to admire the other boy’s handiwork. While three-on-one was simple for Shouto, he could admire how someone with a lesser background would have struggled, but Midoriya seemed to do it with little effort. Perhaps Shouto would have to keep an eye on him.

And not just because he was pretty.

* * *

Katsuki was not having a good time. Today they were hiking to some random-ass canyon near the monastery to learn about “terrain differences” or some bullshit like that. Like Katsuki didn’t already know how to use terrain like a motherfucking legend. 

The hike there, however, was even worse than the prospect of some boring-ass exercise. The goddamn extras were mocking him. Him! And all the while they were praising Deku for having passed some made-up exam the other day. And now Deku was wearing some fancy-ass robes like he was tough shit, instead of just shit. Ha, that one was pretty good.

“Quiet down, we’re here.” Well that was something at least. No more hearing about how he was “of the same consistency and pleasantness of plague sewage.” Fucking Thunder Bitch.

“Welcome, everyone, to Zanado!” called a voice from the edge of the canyon. The extras around him murmured excitedly, and even Katsuki could admit they kinda had a point. In front of them stood one of the most famous Bishops of the Knights of Seiros, known only as Thirteen. Their face was veiled, but their words still echoed through the canyon clearly. “As I hope many of you know, this canyon was said to be where the goddess descended millenia ago to spread her light and wisdom! Though it is abandoned now, it is considered a holy site, so please be respectful. That said, we will be using it to learn about how terrain, specifically inclines, can be used to your advantage in battle. But first, I have some important things to say.

“All of my life, I have been devoted to the study of magic and how to use it to save lives. My Crest, that of the Apostle Timotheos, allows me to heal others more frequently than the average healer, and I had always hoped to use it to its greatest potential. However, when I became a Knight of Seiros, I learned that saving lives does not always mean healing. Sometimes, it means taking lives to save others. However, I learned something else too: taking a life is not always the best option. While it is often necessary to kill in battle, it is important to remember why you are fighting. Is it to save lives, or for your own greed? Whether you be noble or commoner, Crested or Crestless, as students of the Officer’s Academy you are here to learn how to be good fighters and commanders, not just effective ones. Do not lose sight of why you fight.”

SIlence reigned for what could have been a few seconds or five minutes as people reflected on these words. Not that Katsuki needed to. He was sure of why he fought, he fought to be the best! And as the best he would be a powerful lord! That meant his people would be happy. Deku’s family was poor and miserable, while Katsuki’s was powerful, so his people must be happier...right?

“That being said,” Thirteen continued “today I am here to teach you how to win effectively, so you can save more lives!”

The class cheered, their introspection quickly forgotten. Katsuki snorted. Fucking idiots.

Suddenly though, a chill cut through the warm air. On the other side of the bridge, a black vortex of dark magic opened and swirled, with all manner of low lives and bandits pouring out. Leading them was some fucker with too many severed hands on his face… wearing the same robes that Deku was. 

Even more disturbing, however, was the sword in his hand. Looking like bone, Katsuki could recognize the look of a Relic when he saw one, but Katsuki had studied the known Relics, and had never seen one like this. What was it?

Katsuki hefted his axe off his shoulders. This was going to be an even longer day than he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As the end may imply, fighting will happen next chapter! As always, feel free to leave comments and criticism!


	5. A Red Rain Paints the Canyon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Battle of Zanado begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo since this is a Fire Emblem setting… there’s a lot of murder. Like, I thought about it, and I was like, “whatever”. So most of the characters, even the normally pacifist ones, will just straight up murder people with little to no qualms or consequences. Also I’m probably gonna make it graphic because that’s just how I am. Sorry, you’ve been warned.
> 
> Also, this chapter is pretty short, so I hope to have the next one out soonish, though who knows with me. Enjoy!

**Zanado, Fódlan’s Center, Fódlan. Imperial Year 1038**  
Zanado had always been somewhat of a conundrum for the Church of Seiros; on one hand, it was one of the most Sacred locations in all of Fodlan, as it is where the Goddess supposedly descended to the planet. However, that also made it so no one in the Church wanted to trample holy ground, leaving it relatively undefended. Because of that, bandits often sought refuge there, though they quickly learned that the Church would only kill them that much faster for it. On the other hand, unlike UA, the canyon had no wards protecting it, and was far enough from the monastery to prevent quick reinforcements, while still being close enough to hide enemy forces. 

Izuku pondered these thoughts as he saw the small army teleporting in. It takes about six seconds after he realizes that several dozen bloodthirsty rogues were here to murder them all for him to start panicking internally. Luckily, a voice quickly dragged him out of blind panic.

“Iida, you’re the only cavalier here, and therefore the fastest unit long distance,” stated Aizawa. The Knight spoke confidently and calmly, but was slowly drawing a reinforced silver sword from his belt. “Ride back to the monastery as fast as possible and bring in reinforcements.”

“But --” began Iida.

“That’s an order. Thirteen, protect the students. All of you may need to defend yourselves, so do whatever you deem necessary. Form the circle formation we discussed two days ago in class, defensive units on the outside and mages and archers in the center.” Nodding in understanding, Iida rode off into the distance, while everyone else drew their weapons in preparation, scrambling into formation. 

“Sensei, what about you?” Izuku couldn’t help but ask.

“This is clearly a patchwork force, which means their command chain is critical. I’m taking out the leaders. Besides,” his teacher smiled a dark grin, raising up his fist. Izuku’s eyes widened as he recognized the red, glowing glove that pulsed on his hand: the Fetters of Dromi, a Hero’s Relic. “I can protect myself.” With that, Aizawa -- no, _Eraserhead_ \-- leaped into the mass of rogues.

Izuku had heard of the Eraser Knight before, but only through dedicated research: he was a powerful, stealth-oriented Knight who often worked taking down smaller time warlords and bandits by taking out their leaders. Bearing a Major Crest of Aubin, he wielded his Relic with grace and skill, and was able to use his Crest to freeze enemies in the middle of their attacks, allowing him to avoid counterattacks. Most devastating, however, was his ability to bind magic in a single hit; either through natural talent or training, he could Silence his opponents’ magical attacks through his weapons.

Seeing him in action was even more impressive for Izuku. He could see now that the scarf his teacher wore was connected to the Fetters of Dromi, granting him greater use of the defensive Aegis and Pavise abilities the Relic bestowed on him. It also seemed to let him use his Crest more often, freezing his foes left and right. The Trickster darted around his opponents, switching seamlessly between his silver sword for close combat and a Levin sword to strike far away mages, Silencing them. 

However, Izuku could tell this was not his kind of fight. Tricksters as a class aren’t trained to take on swarms of opponents, and it was showing. 

For now though, Izuku had bigger worries. Mainly, the Dark Bishop who had suddenly warped in front of Thirteen. Or, at least Izuku assumed it was a Dark Bishop: he had covered himself in a black fog (obviously dark magic), making him impossible to track down precisely. The warping ability was odd too, as Izuku thought only certain Bishops and those with Faith magic could warp, and he’d never heard of a mage warping themself, only others.

“Hello, my name is Kurogiri,” he introduced, almost polite. “We were told All Might would be here. Shame. It is my job to scatter your lovely formation and kill your commander. Goodbye.”

* * *

Katsuki drove his axe into the head of a thief, satisfied in how she fell. He usually took no pleasure in killing, at least not any more than he enjoyed any fight, but he was angry at that warping fucker. 

Behind him, one of his classmates, a heavy armor knight, was fending off a Myrmidon rogue. As he was a generous future lord, Katsuki decided to help, throwing a hand axe at a mage who was about to blast the common fucker.

“Thanks!” enthusiastically yelled Kiriga-- Kishna-- Kamin-- fuck it, Shitty Hair. His hair sucked and his personality was too happy, so he was Shitty Hair now. “I’m terrible at defending against mages, so I appreciate it!”

“Stop yelling your weaknesses around your enemies, you fucking moron!” shouted Katsuki back, taking out another mage. 

Goddess, today sucked.

* * *

Kyoka barely dodged another blow from a brigand who was way too close to her liking. As an archer, she preferred to keep her enemies at a distance, thank you very much. She shot an arrow at him from her short-ranged mini bow, but he dodged easily, before diving toward her once again. She backed up, but tripped over a rock, falling. The man descended, and Kyoka felt fear.

Suddenly, a sword from seemingly nowhere cut down her foe before he could strike. The most beautiful girl Kyoka had ever seen stood majestically with a silver, glowing sword and half-cape blowing in the wind. Yaoyorozu Momo, clad in her Lord armor, offered a hand to her, and she quickly accepted, her heart beating quickly.

A cavalier interrupted their moment with a jab of her spear, and Kyoka shot her in the head. Right, she thought, not the time.

“Do you know where anyone else is?” asked Yaoroyozu, preparing her battle stance once again. Kyoka opened her mouth to respond to the negative, but was once again interrupted, this time by a shout.

“Help me! I lost my sword!” screamed Kaminari Denki, a (clearly useless) Mercenary and unfortunately one of Kyoka’s classmates. Yaoyorozu effortlessly struck down the pegasus knight chasing him.

“You said you prefer these, right?” Yaoyorozu asked, handing him a Levin sword from her belt. “It should help you tap into your magical abilities.”

“Yeah that idiot is physically weak and sucks at Reason magic,” Kyoka said, rolling her eyes. “Though what the hell is _that_ sword?”

“Oh, this?” Yaoyorozu began, blushing slightly. “It’s a family heirloom, a Sacred regalia known as the Sword of Belgata. It’s nowhere as powerful as a Relic, but it works with my Crest to heal me and make me stronger in battle.”

“Damn, you got a Sacred weapon in school?” Kaminari asked. “You must be rich.”

Had the situation been less life-threatening, Kyoka would have facepalmed. This boy was literally part of the Ordelia family, an Alliance noble, and he didn’t know his classmate was the next leader of the Alliance. What an idiot, she thought, shooting an arrow at another enemy.

* * *

Tsuyu was glad she had thought to transform when Kurogiri had threatened them, because a second later she found herself falling through the air in another part of the canyon. Thinking fast, she wrapped her tongue around a nearby rock and pulled herself to a nearby pillar. 

Not a moment later, there was another flash of light as Midoriya appeared, and she quickly snatched him with her tongue before he could fall. Upon catching him, Tsuyu leapt to the top of said pillar before changing back into her humanoid form.

“Woah,” said Midoriya, panting, “thanks for saving me Asui.”

“Please, call me Tsuyu.”

“Oh, right, thanks then Tsuyu. Where are we? It looks like we’re still in Zanado, but why bother warping us? I guess it broke our formation, but I don’t see any --”

Seeing a movement out of the corner of her eye, Tsuyu pulled Midoriya away from the pillar, just before an arrow flew past where his head had been. Cautiously, they both looked down at the ground below. About 10 meters down, a dozen rogues stood menacingly, waiting for the two to climb down. Assessing, Tsuyu looked around her and noticed the closest cliff was luckily about level with them -- but was another 25 meters of open space away. 

Tsuyu looked at Midoriya, who had clearly just noticed the same things as her. “Well,” she said, “you’re the Tactician. Any plans?”

“I’m guessing you can’t jump that far?” She shook her head no. “Figures. I just have a steel sword and an Elwind tome, but unfortunately no other weapons to fight with, and taking them all on doesn’t seem smart... actually, I might have an idea.”

* * *

Shouto was unimpressed with the rogues who had invaded the Holy Ground. Granted, Shouto wasn’t particularly religious, so he wasn’t too up-in-arms about that particular offense, but he was annoyed that class was canceled. His father never taught him anything interesting beyond rote strategy, likely because the Emperor was a terrible commander and strategist himself; he had been looking forward to learning tactics involving terrain. 

Regardless, the rogues were nothing. They clearly were expecting some spoiled nobles, not a trained Warlock wielding a Relic. With Thyrsus in hand, Shouto cast Blizzard, transforming it from a spell that would freeze a single opponent in ice into a massive glacier. He made sure to leave one alive though, for questioning. Slowly, he walked towards his captive victim.

“You’re a monster!” yelled the terrified rogue. “You just killed at least 30 men!”

“So you see the power of a Hero’s Relic,” replied Shouto cooly. “Now, how do you intend to kill All Might?”

“I don’t know! They have a monster, they call it Nomu, but I don’t know anything else. I only got recruited this morning!” 

Shouto nodded, thoughtful. He absentmindedly cast a smaller ice spell, quickly ending the man’s life. He had to get down and find that monster. Monster was such a broad word, he wished he knew more. Was it a demonic beast? He felt like he would have noticed one earlier.

“Um, excuse me?” said a small voice on his left. “Could you please help me get free?” Shouto looked over to see a girl standing there, her foot completely encapsulated in ice. He recognized her as one of her classmates, one of the two Thief girls, but couldn’t remember her name.

“Oh, um. Yeah. Sorry.” Shouto awkwardly made his way to her, casting a spell to break the ice. “I didn’t notice you there. Aren’t thieves not supposed to start stealth training until they become Assassins or Tricksters?”

“Oh yes,” she replied, “but I’ve always been very good at it. It lets me pass my opponents too. Don’t worry about it, Todoroki.”

“Of course, um…”

“Hagakure Tooru. Don’t worry about it! Like I said, I’m hard to notice, especially for a prince.”

They stood in awkward silence for several moments before Shouto violently realized that their classmates and teachers were, in fact, in mortal danger.

“Let’s go. We need to help.”

* * *

“Okay, are you ready? We obviously only have one shot at this.”

Asui -- Tsuyu, right -- nodded. 

Izuku breathed deeply, holding the Elwind tome in front of him. Focusing his magic into it, it lit up a bright green, and the wind around him lifted his hair slightly. The rogues below were immediately attentive, but Izuku shot a blast of wind around them, making them stumble.

“Now!” he yelled. In an instant, Tsuyu transformed into her Taguel form: a massive, demonic looking frog. He latched on to her arm just as she leapt across the gap. They started to fall about halfway towards the cliff, but they had calculated for that. Tsuyu transformed middair once again into her humanoid form, quickly clinging to Izuku.

Focusing on the tome once more, Izuku pushed his magic through it again, this time at a 45 degree angle below them, creating a gust of wind that propelled them forward. The archer below had recovered from his earlier gust of Elwind, but thankfully she wasn’t a very good shot, as she missed by half a meter. 

Unfortunately, Izuku realized he’d miscalculated: they wouldn’t reach the cliff in that single burst, not with an archer already on their heels and the other regrouping. In a final, desperate measure, he focused his magic once more, this time activating his Crest to give me an extra boost.

The effects were instantaneous and dramatic: the gale he unleashed easily pushed them to the nearby cliff, as well as blew their enemies away, literally. He and Tsuyu stumbled as they hit the ground, and Izuku winced as he realized he had definitely broken a toe or two channeling his Crest through his feet.

All of this happened in about five seconds total.

With the immediate danger now behind them, he and Tsuyu made their way up a set of ancient stairs, taking in their new location. Before them stood the ruins of what appeared to be an old temple, but now consisted mainly of a few scattered columns and a centerpiece. More importantly, however, was who stood there.

Aizawa lay pinned by a massive… something. It almost looked like a demonic beast, but was the size of a large man, as opposed to a lizard. Whatever it was, it held Aizawa in a death grip on the floor of the canyon with no way out. He was also covered in blood, which obviously came from the litter of corpses laying at his feet. At least three dozen bodies lay between him and the entrance. Disgusted with the violence, Izuku couldn’t help but think the canyon looked like it had been painted red with blood.

“You know, Eraserhead, I think I found your tell.” The voice echoed through the canyon, sounding like cracked stone against steel. The owner of said voice stood at the ruined temple’s centerpiece, his hand on the altar. “Whenever your Crest activates, your scarf rises. And you’re getting tired, not that it matters with you in that position.” 

Izuku took in the man -- the villain -- on the altar. Disembodied hands covered his face and arms, and tendrils of dark magic clung to his actual hands, one of which was holding a weird looking sword. Most disturbing, however, was his armor. It was the same as Izuku’s.

“Another Tactician,” Izuku said out loud. It was a mistake.

The man’s head snapped to where Izuku and Tsuyu stood. Beneath the hand, Izuku saw him grin.

“Well well well,” he said gleefully. “Some fresh blood. This should be fun.”


	6. The Glowing Sword, the Raging Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle continues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was much harder to write than I anticipated. Next chapter is probably going to be pretty long, plus I'm starting to write a few other fics too, so it might be a while before I post it. Who knows though, no me.

The creepy, hand-covered man was a Tactician and he was definitely going to murder Izuku. 

“Where are my manners?” said the aforementioned terrifying mage. “My name is Shigaraki Tomura, the killer of peace, the pride of Agartha, and heir to Shambala.” Izuku had never heard of Shambala or Agartha, but he was definitely not going to ask. “We are here to kill All Might, but seeing as he’s not here, I guess I’ll just have to settle for you children.”

Shigaraki shot towards them faster than Izuku would have thought possible for such a thin man. He had no time to react, not even to defend himself. As if in slow motion, Izuku saw Shigaraki form a Miasma spell in his hands as he moved, reaching out for Tsuyu. 

Then, right before the spell hit, it fizzled into nothingness.

“A Silence spell. I have to say Aizawa, you are so cool. Even though you follow that wretched Goddess, you still have the nerve to Silence me without your staff.” Shigaraki turned back towards Aizawa, clearly looking to gloat more, but Izuku saw his chance. Quick as he could, he drew his sword and attacked Shigaraki. Just before the blow landed, however, the white-haired man noticed, turning and parrying with his terrifying sword.

Izuku continued to drive him back, however, clashing with him blow-for-blow. He scrambled mentally for a way to turn the tides.Unfortunately, he didn’t have the time or concentration to use magic, tome or no tome, and here the terrain was flat and wide, so no plans came to mind. Luckily for Izuku, the other Tactician was clearly more of a mage than a swordsman, while Izuku was the opposite. Without the time to cast, Shigaraki was at a disadvantage. 

Shigaraki seemed to realize this too, and deemed it worthy of a tactical retreat, feinting to the left and kicking up dust before leaping away to gain some distance. 

“Another Tactician, huh? I would’ve thought Sensei was the only one who knew that class. Alas, your simple sword is no match for me. This is a Hero’s Relic!” Shigaraki showed off the sword, and Izuku noticed that it did look like a Relic: the blade was long and jagged, with a red Crest stone sitting in the hilt. However, it wasn’t glowing red, and that meant one thing.

“But it isn’t yours, is it?” snarked Izuku, somehow finding confidence in his voice. “You can’t use its true power. It’s just a fancy sword for you.” Though Izuku knew that the lack of response meant something else too: Shigaraki still had a Crest, even if it wasn’t compatible with the sword.

“Shut up, you despicable child!” Shigaraki seemed to be disproportionately angry at his observation. Raising his hand, dark magic swirled before unleashing a Death spell. 

While dodging, Izuku noticed the flash of a Crest, and thankfully he recognized it: a Crest of Dominic. Most likely major, based on the amount of light emitted. That meant Shigaraki would be able to use more magic than the average person, with his Crest compensating his magical endurance. Certainly not good for Izuku, as it belonged to a Dark Magic wielder. 

Before either Izuku or Shigaraki could move again, the cloudy Dark Bishop from earlier returned. “Shigaraki Tomura, Thirteen has been decommissioned, though I was unable to kill them. Their Luna spell was powerful enough to weaken my defenses, forcing me to retreat. I have also learned that a cavalier student sent for reinforcements before the battle began, and reinforcements for UA will likely arrive soon.”

Shigaraki breathed deeply, clearly furious. “I should kill you where you stand. It’s no matter though. I suppose it’s time to kill these children. Nomu!”

Before Shigaraki could give an order to the beast, however, an object crashed into the entrance of the canyon. Or rather, a person.

“Step away from those children, heretic!” All Might, Captain of the Knights of Seiros, Protector of the Faith, and Izuku’s mentor, rose from the cloud of dust in all his glory. He wasn’t smiling. “You are desecrating Sacred Ground!” he shouted furiously. The War Master examined Shigaraki, before looking at his armor and weapons. “That sword, it can’t be…”

“Oh good,” commented Shigaraki gleefully, “we have a new objective: defeat the enemy commander. I hope you’ve made peace with your Goddess, All Might, because I will introduce you to her. Nomu! Attack him.”

The beast -- Nomu -- lunged towards All Might at inhuman speeds. The two titans clashed, their blows creating great bursts of sound and force. Oddly (though not out of character), Shigaraki continued to monologue over the fierce confrontation despite the deafening noises.

“Nomu is the pinnacle of science and magic,” he lectured, almost to no one. “It is a demonic beast bound to a man, condensing the Crest Stone’s power to be comparable to a Relic, even without the rest of the weapon. Our previous attempt was lost and destroyed in Galatea, though I heard you encountered it, didn’t you All Might?”

Somehow, the mention of the stone Izuku had encountered almost a year before snapped him out of his panicked paralysis. He immediately shook Tsuyu gently enough to not be noticeable, and she seemed to snap out of it as well. Perhaps a spell inducing fear? That would be tactically useful.

He silently signalled for Tsuyu to take Aizawa and get out, to which she nodded and began to slowly creep towards his body. Izuku hoped he was unconscious rather than dead, but that might be up to his performance. He was the distraction, after all.

Without warning, Izuku gathered his Elwind tome and threw a powerful gust towards Kurogiri, briefly clearing the dark fog surrounding him. It quickly came back, but left long enough to reveal where his body was. With his sword, he dove toward the Dark Bishop, attacking his newly discovered physical form. It quickly became clear that at close distance, Kurogiri would fall in just a few hits, even with Izuku’s relatively weak blows.

Unfortunately, Shigaraki was currently unengaged, and All Might had his hands fully with the Nomu. Izuku quickly found himself dodging attacks from two powerful mages, while also trying to keep their attention away from Tsuyu, who now had their teacher and was quickly moving towards the exit to the canyon. 

Trying to focus on too much at once, Izuku didn’t notice the rock outcropping behind him as he dodged a blow from Shigaraki. He felt himself trip, watching as Shigaraki reached his hand out, Miasma already on his fingers, closing in on his face…

A Blizzard saved him just before the spell release. Kurogiri used Rescue on the childish Tactician, pulling him away from the ice and in the process unintentionally saving Izuku’s life. 

“Are you alright?” asked Todoroki, still standing in battle stance with Thyrsus in his right hand. “Sorry it took so long, I was waiting for an opportunity.”

“I’m fine,” said Izuku, still rattled, “but I’m worried about All Might. That monster is powerful and if the other two gang up on him…”

Todoroki nodded. “Good thing I brought back up.”

As if on cue, Kacchan leapt out from behind a boulder where he had clearly been waiting, ambushing Kurogiri, landing a solid hit on his frail body. The Dark Bishop barely had time to block with a staff, which promptly shattered. “Die you fucker! Not gonna warp away now, are you?”

“We need to get that sword away from Shigaraki -- the leader,” said Izuku to Shouto. “He isn’t compatible with it, but a Relic is still a Relic. Besides, I think I can get off a modified Silence spell if I can get two swords in those two rocks over there” he pointed to two boulders near the entrance “and put mine here. I’ll also need the Silence staff that I know Aizawa keeps on him somewhere. That should cancel both Kurogiri and Shigaraki’s magics, leaving them defenseless.”

“I can help!” Izuku jumped as he saw Hagakure appear for the first time… though based on what he knew about her she had probably been there the whole time and he didn’t notice. “I have a steel sword too, I can get Aizawa’s staff and sword easily enough, passing enemies unnoticed is my specialty.”

Izuku nodded, and she ran off. He looked towards Kacchan, who was still fighting with Kurogiri, now assisted by Kirishima. “Ready?” asked Todoroki.

“Of course.”

They attacked Shigaraki in perfect sync. Izuku went in close with Shouto at his back, the Warlock firing precision shots at the enemy while the Tactician stayed close with his sword. He was surprised to find that the two of them were more than a match for the dark Tactician, who was barely scraping by. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hagakure drive the swords into their proper locations, signally her readiness with the staff held above her head.

“Now!” Izuku shouted. Shigaraki startled, clearly expecting Izuku to leap away, but he did the opposite. With an upward swing of his sword, Izuku caught the hilt of the Relic with his blade, retching it from Shigaraki’s grasp and throwing it into the air, allowing him to reach up and catch it.

Not taking the time to celebrate his victory, Izuku retreated with Todoroki covering him with another Blizzard spell -- seriously, the boy needed a larger arsenal. Hagakure threw the Silence staff across the canyon, and Izuku barely caught it in his scramble towards the final point of the triangle. He thrust his steel sword into the rock, then raised the staff above his head. 

There was an audible humming as Izuku cast Silence over the wide area, using the swords as foci and trying desperately how to maintain such a large area spelled. Suddenly, Shigaraki and Kurogiri’s attacks dissipated and Izuku thanked the Goddess for his first lesson with Nedzu, where he had learned the spell. With a new opening, Kacchan once again lunged towards the warping mage, this time intending to kill.

“No! Nomu, kill the threat!” Faster than Izuku could track, the beast changed course from his battle with All Might and charged Kacchan. For a moment, Izuku heard nothing but his own breath as the abomination curled a fist towards his oldest friend. Then, the moment was over, and Kacchan was safe, laying on the canyon floor several feet away.

All Might was not. His neck was held tightly in the Nomu’s grip, and Izuku acted without thinking. He instinctively swung his new, stolen sword towards Nomu, and was shocked to find it glow red and uncurl like a whip. The elongated blade cut through the air, slicing easily through the creature’s arm 10 meters away.

Shigaraki screamed. “You cheater! That’s my sword, I was supposed to kill All Might with it! Nomu, get him!”

Horrified, Izuku watched as the creature’s stump of an arm convulsed before giving way to a familiar slime, forming a new, bulging arm.

But the opportunity was there, and All Might took it. In the momentary confusion, All Might struck with his Gauntlet, and Izuku heard the Crest Stone embedded in Nomu's chest shatter. For a moment, there was only silence as Shigarki watched in horror as his monster fell, lifeless.

“Come and get me you heathens!” shouted All Might. But he just stood there, steaming. Shigaraki was stunned at the loss of his Nomu, but slowly grinned from beneath the hand.

“You’re powerless, little hero,” he said. Izuku didn’t think All Might could be called “little,” no matter his form, but the statement was intimidating nonetheless. “Now, why don’t I just --”

An arrow cut through his words, embedding itself in his hand, which had been raised to cast some spell. At the entrance of the canyon stood the Knights of Seiros, with the Sniper Snipe and the Bow Knight Yamada Hizashi at the front, aiming to kill.

Kurogiri, clearly the smarter of the two rogues, ran to the edge of the Silence triangle, calling on some last strain of magic to teleport himself and Shigaraki quickly out of the area.

And just like that, it was over.

Izuku ran to All Might, who was quickly fading from his powered form. “Help Aizawa!” he shouted to the remaining students, then pulled his mentor behind a rock as they were distracted. The older man reverted to his true form just as the Fortress Knight Ishiyama Ken guarded him from view.

“All Might, what was that? You recognized this sword, didn’t you? Why is it compatible with my Crest?” Izuku asked quietly, careful not to be overheard. 

“Later my boy,” All Might said, “For now, simply rest.”

Only then did Izuku realize how tired he was. Oh, and now he noticed the pain. Did Shigaraki stab him? He hadn’t noticed that. Content to let the adults figure out the rest, he passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time tune in for an actual explanation of OfA and more worldbuilding (because I do nothing else it seems).


	7. Petrichor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This chapter is not too long, but I hope it does its job.
> 
> Unfortunately, I started writing this fic at the peak of my excitement for it, which meant my motivation to write for it has declined since then, combined with my poor planning at the beginning of writing, I have lost some of my enthusiasm and may be slower to post. I am not abandoning it and I fully intend to finish it, though it will be shorter than I expected and updates may not be as frequent.
> 
> However, I have been working on other fics! In particular, I have another MHA fic called [The Brighter the Light](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24559012/chapters/59307757) which I will be posting more often for, so I hope you check it out! I'm working on a few others too, and will hopefully post soon.
> 
> As always let me know what you think, and enjoy!

“Based on that evidence, what do you think should be done about House Ochs?”

“Well, their supply lines run through this territory, which is near this bandit stronghold, yes? If you were able to intercept their supplies right here, you could blame the bandits for the damage, while still able to collect their supplies. Then you could earn their favor by ‘freeing the supply line’ and simply allow their caravans to pass, doing next to nothing to solve the crisis.”

“Excellent Midoriya! I couldn’t have planned it better myself.”

Izuku glowed with pride at the compliment from the Archbishop. His lessons with Nedzu had started off awkward, as Izuku had at first been afraid to say anything wrong in front of the holy laguz, and thus often said very little. After a few lessons, however, he had finally realized that the Archbishop seemed genuinely interested in his thoughts on battle strategies and magic. They’d even started to delve into political scheming, though Izuku still felt bad any time he suggested underhanded tactics there.

“I think that’s plenty of strategizing for today,” Nedzu said, interrupting his thoughts. “Before you go, however, I’d like to check in with how you’re feeling about the incident from the other day.”

The ‘incident’ as he called it had come to be called the Battle of Zanado. After the Knights of Seiros arrived, however, it had been more of a slaughter. The rogues, with the exception of the escaped leaders, had already been weakened by the students, and the might of the Knights easily overwhelmed them. Luckily, no students had died, though some had been forced to kill for the first time. Izuku was glad he hadn’t had to.

“I’m doing alright,” he responded truthfully. “Recovery Girl healed up my stab wound, and honestly it could have been worse. I’m mostly just glad no one but Aizawa was injured, and that he’s healing.”

“That’s incorrect Midoriya,” interjected Nedzu, with a look in his eye that Izuku couldn’t recognize. “ _You_ were injured, and that is very important. However, I am glad you are feeling better now, though I hope that if that changes you will consult someone, whether it be me or someone else. Recovery is not linear, and it is normal to start to feel mental repercussions well after the fact.” Izuku nodded in acknowledgement, which made the Archbishop smile. “Now then, run along to class, you don’t want to be late.”

Bowing as he exited the office, Izuku made his way back to the Black Eagles classroom, where the rest of the class had just come back from the training grounds, also having worked on their class aptitudes. Out of the corner of his eye, Izuku saw Todoroki staring at him, though Izuku couldn’t figure out why. He sat down in his seat, unsettled, but overall not too concerned.

A moment later, Aizawa entered the classroom, covered in bandages. The whole class gaped as he headed to the front of the room as if it were a normal day and he hadn’t been mostly dead three days ago. Iida looked like he was going to comment, but Uraraka slapped his arm before he could. The rest of the class silently decided that it wasn’t worth the fight.

“Alright, the Grand Tournament is approaching.” That got everyone’s attention. “That means you, along with the other classes in your year, will fight in a friendly manner. First, you all will battle in a large scale match, then in single combat matches once enough of the other contenders have been eliminated. This is a chance to prove yourselves.” 

The underlying implications went unspoken, but everyone knew them. Commoners could gain the attention of noble houses or mercenaries who would want to hire them, while nobles could show off their power, essentially upping their credibility and prestige. Basically, it was a big deal.

“In the meantime though, you’ll need a house leader. Normally I’d choose, but I don’t want to, so you’ll have to figure it out yourselves. I’m leaving, don’t kill each other. Know by class tomorrow.” He left without another word.

Immediately, everyone started scrambling over each other, yelling about who should be chosen. As the house leader would effectively be the commander of the class in the upcoming battles, it was a big deal, especially to the nobles. Having just come back from his political lessons with Nedzu, Izuku knew exactly who would be house leader.

The obvious options were Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, and Iida, as they came from the three leading families of the three nations. However, Todoroki had scored relatively low in Authority on the first day for the future emperor. He also lacked any true political gravitas or charisma, which made it unlikely he’d be elected. Interestingly, Todoroki didn’t even seem interested in trying to have his voice heard either, instead just watching the proceeding around him in silence, while still keeping an eye on Izuku for some reason.

That left Yaoyorozu and Iida. If it were based solely on merit, Izuku would bet Yaoyorozu would win, but there was politics at play: Yaoyorozu came from the Alliance, where all the noble families tried to one-up each other, and taught their children to do the same. This meant that all of the Alliance nobles in the class would likely vote for anyone but her. Iida, on the other hand, came from the Kingdom, where allegiance to the royal family was taught to every child, common and noble, ensuring all the Kingdom citizens (save Kacchan, who would vote for himself) would vote for him. Iida’s position as second born also granted him favors here: no conniving noble wanted to be under the command of a foreign leader, even if it was just in school. Since Iida was unlikely to inherit, that made him less threatening in the long run.

Even though Izuku knew all this (and could even estimate the exact number of votes each person would get), it took everyone else a startlingly long time to figure out that a vote was the best way to decide in the first place, and even longer to decide that nobles and commoners should both get to vote. It had been Yaoyorozu who had suggested it, which made sense: votes were common in the Alliance, but nowhere else. 

In the end, it went as predicted, with Iida winning decisively, with Yaoyorozu coming in second, therefore being the second in command. She took the loss with grace, clearly expecting those results. 

What did surprise Izuku, however, was he had three votes, when he had expected to have none. Two of those votes he had expected to go to Iida instead; he figured Iida would never vote for himself, so that made sense. The other he chalked up to Uraraka, since they were friends. The final, however, came from Todoroki’s expected voting pool, and Izuku couldn’t figure out who it was. For a moment, he entertained the idea that perhaps Todoroki himself voted for Izuku, as he had been watching at him all day and hadn’t seemed interested in the position. Izuku brushed it off though, that would be ridiculous.

* * *

With a house leader decided, the class began to disband, heading towards the courtyard outside the classroom. Shouto looked forward to going back to his room, away from noble politics and Midoriya. Unfortunately, they were interrupted.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the illustrious Black Eagles, finally coming out to grace us with their presence.” A blond boy stood in the doorway, with several other students behind him, watching them exit. “Well don’t forget about the Blue Lions! We might not be famous battle heroes, but we will beat you all nonetheless!” There was no way he wasn’t a noble with all that posturing. “Specifically, I, Monoma Neito, heir to House Gloucester, will defeat you all!” Ah, definitely a noble then, and a Gloucester one at that.

Shouto had heard about his cousin, as well as the rest of his mother’s side of the family. Before she was locked away, his mother would speak fondly of her time growing up in the Alliance. However, Shouto had learned many years ago that the Gloucester family was likely just as awful as the home he grew up in, though with less physical abuse and more snotty manners and superiority complexes. They had sold off one of their own to a foriegn emperor just for another bridge. Admittedly, the Great Bridge of Myrddin was an important bridge, the largest in all of Fodlan and in a key economic and political position, but it was wrong to sell off your daughter to the highest bidder for her Major Crest.

And here was Monoma Neito, his (distant) cousin, acting like surviving an ambush attack was a great feat, like they asked for it. Shouto didn’t like to judge people based on their families -- he hated it when people compared him to his father, after all -- but Monoma so far didn’t seem much better than the rest of the Gloucesters. 

“And you!” Oh, now Monoma was speaking to Shouto. Joy. “I’ll beat you specifically in the festival and prove that Thyrsus rightfully belongs to the Gloucester family!”

Shouto gave the blonde boy a cold look, like he was looking down on him. He had worked on it a lot, and he felt it was very good. “If I remember correctly, your father knew what he was doing when he willingly gave Thyrsus to the Emperor when he married my mother. I’d rather keep it with me where it’s useful than have it be locked in a display case where it’s only used as a symbol of status.”

Monoma spluttered, but before he could say anything to defend himself, another boy who Shouto didn’t recognize joined the fray. 

“Oh isn’t this charming, all the little Surface nobles squabbling over their toys. It’s too bad you aren’t arguing over something important, like the best ways to get your subjects killed in battle or how to steal all their resources.” The boy in question had unruly purple hair and tired eyes set in a glare. He wore an academy uniform, but instead of white and gold trimmings they were grey and silver, which Shouto had never seen before.

“Oh fuck off you peasants!” Unfortunately, Bakugo had decided this whole interaction was taking up too much of his time and pushed his way through the crowd.

“Oh is that how the Black Eagles treat those around them?” the purple haired boy snarled back while Monoma merely spluttered once again, clearing finding ‘peasant’ to be the worst insult imaginable. Great, now everyone thought they were all classist dickheads. “Did you know the Grand Tournament is a time where all classes can compete? Even those of us in the Ashen Wolves are allowed to crawl up from the Abyss and earn our way out. That means those of us who are too ugly, or have ‘cursed’ Crests will have our opportunity to destroy you. Watch your backs, all of you, because I’m coming for your spots.” 

With that, the boy flourished dramatically and left, with the rest of the crowd deciding to leave as well, despite the fact that only the boy had said anything interesting or intimidating. Luckily, a red-haired girl from the Blue Lions also decided to drag Monoma away before he could start a fight, leaving the Black Eagles to themselves.

Kirishima was the first to speak up. “What did he mean by cursed Crests? Aren’t they supposed to be gifts from the Goddess, how could they be bad? Also, what the hell is the Abyss?”

“Even though all Crests come from the goddess, there are certain ones that are considered… unlucky,” answered Yaoyorozu. “The Crests of the Apostles, for instance, used to be considered more dangerous than other Crests, though now since several of the Knights of Seiros now bear them, the stigma has lessened slightly. A few others though, like the Crest of the Beast, still have a lot of superstition around them. I’ve never heard of the Abyss though.”

“I have,” chimed in Midoriya. Everyone, including Shouto, was unsurprised. The Tactician was a walking encyclopedia of random information. “Honestly I thought it was a myth. Allegedly, the Abyss is an underground society located beneath the monastery, said to be created by the church so they could hide any ‘undesirable’ people or objects that didn’t conform to the church’s ideals, though hadn’t done enough to be deemed heretics. The Ashen Wolves were supposed to be the secret house of the Academy, made so the children in the Abyss would have a place to learn.”

Everyone was silent for a moment at the implication: if the Abyss and Ashen Wolves were real, that meant the church was fine throwing children underground if they were unsightly. It certainly wasn’t a pleasant thought.

“Cursed Crests are a crazy notion,” Kirishima interjected again, unsubtly changing the subject. “Aren’t they mainly supposed to only help with battle? Why would they affect anything else?”

“Crests actually have a lot of uses outside of battles and magic,” responded Midoriya, “though exactly what they can do it up for a lot of debate. It varies from person to person after all.”

“Indeed, my major Crest of Macuil has even changed my physiology,” added Tokoyami. Shouto had heard rumors about why the boy always wore the Dark Mage bird mask, though if he looked odd it would make sense that he hid his face. “It is also what allowed me to bond with my familiar, Dark Shadow, who allows me to focus my magic.” The raven sitting on his shoulder cawed at his name, preening slightly.

“That’s so manly,” said Kirishima excitedly. “I would do anything to have a Crest, even a bad one. Without one it was nearly impossible to get here, even as a commoner.”

“Be careful what you wish for,” warned Uraraka, “The nobility doesn’t appreciate commoners having Crests, as it undermines their rhetoric that Crests signify the nobility's divine right to rule. You have no idea how close I was to getting married off to some rich family, even for my minor Crest. Not that my parents wanted to sell me off, but if it was between starving to death and that… well I’m glad the harvest has been good for the last few years.”

Koda and Hagakure, the other two commoners with Crests in their class, nodded knowingly. This conversation was once again reminding Shouto of his mother’s family selling her; it seemed that wasn’t as uncommon as he would have hoped.

“Still,” interjected Kaminari, “Crests are useful for battle! Plus Relics are super cool and powerful, so having a Crest isn’t all bad, right?”

“That’s easy for you to say as a Crested noble,” countered Uraraka, “though admittedly it did make getting into the Academy much easier.” Shouto noticed Midoriya looked uncomfortable at that statement, though no one else was paying enough attention to him to notice. Interesting. Is it possible Midoriya only got in because of his Crest? It would explain how he entered at such a lower level than everyone else. “Besides,” Uraraka continued, “not all of us have access to Relics we can use. No one has seen the Relic associated with my Crest, the Crest of Lamine, in years.”

“Same with my family’s Relic, Luin,” added Midoriya. Shouto knew from his studies that Luin went with the Crest of Daphnel, but Midoriya’s Crest definitely wasn’t Daphnel, so what could it be? “Not to mention nobles without Crests are treated terribly. In the kingdom they can’t even inherit.” Midoriya’s tone implied it was personal, but he had a Crest, so he wasn’t talking about himself, right? “Though admittedly being able to add power to any attack is helpful.”

His wording immediately threw up red flags for Shouto. “Wait, are you saying you can activate your Crest at will?” Shouto asked, shocked.

“Of course,” replied Midoriya easily. “Can’t everyone?”

“No,” said Yaoyorozu slowly, her expression of mild shock and fear mirrored on every noble’s face. “I’ve never heard of a Crest that can activate on command, it’s always random. Major Crests activate more than minor Crests, that’s the whole point.”

Midoriya now looked extremely nervous, though that didn’t make much sense. What was he hiding? “Well maybe --”

“What are you all doing, loitering out here?” Iida stormed out of the classroom where he had been doing… something? Cleaning? Shouto hadn’t been paying attention. “As house leader, I cannot tolerate the entire Black Eagles house wasting away in the courtyard. Disperse please!”

Midoriya looked relieved at the excuse to run away, and he darted towards the stairs to the church officials’ offices. Where All Might’s office was. Shouto was disappointed to miss his answer, but this reaction was telling too. Shouto wanted to figure out Midoriya even more now.

* * *

Izuku thanked the Goddess Iida had interrupted when he had. Remembering All Might’s promise to finally explain their Crest, Izuku raced up the stairs towards his office, hoping he’d be there. As he approached, however, he heard voices coming from the office.

“...can’t believe you didn’t even consult me on this!” 

“Frankly, Mirai, that wasn’t any of your business.” That was All Might’s voice, though Izuku recognized neither the first speaker nor the name, Mirai. “While I have always appreciated your council -- and still do -- my choice for a successor is mine.”

Sensing this wasn’t something he should eavesdrop on, Izuku knocked on the open office door. Both figures whirled around at the sound. “Um, should I come back later?” Izuku asked.

All Might, who was surprisingly in his depowered form, smiled at him, though the other man frowned critically. He was dressed in nice but nondescript clothing rather than armor or ceremonial garb, suggesting he was neither clergy nor a Knight, though Izuku knew appearances could be deceiving.

“Ah, young Midoriya, you’re not interrupting at all, please come in,” All Might assured, though he was very clearly lying about not interrupting. “This is Sir Nighteye, a Knight of Seiros and my former chief strategist. He actually works as a Grandmaster, the traditional promoted class of your Tactician class!” Oh Izuku definitely knew who Sir Nighteye was, and based on the lack of introduction, Sir Nighteye knew who he was and clearly did not like him. 

“It’s very nice to meet you Sir,” said Izuku politely as possible, bowing. Sir Nighteye still did not look impressed. In fact, he did not even respond to Izuku’s greeting, opting instead to continue glaring at him, as if searching for something and finding him lacking it.

After an awkward moment of silence, All Might huffed, clearly annoyed. “Mirai, I understand you’re upset, but my decision is final. I would still be delighted to meet young Mirio though, feel free to bring him by any time.”

Sir Nighteye recognized this as the dismissal it was and left with a curt nod, still refusing to even speak in Izuku’s presence. Unfortunately, Izuku could guess why.

After the other man was fully gone, Izuku asked, “Why were you arguing about choosing me as a successor?”

For a moment it looked as though All Might would argue the point, but then must have decided it wasn’t worth trying to cover up. “Sir Nighteye believes that the transfer of One for All should be an issue for the entirety of the Knights of Seiros, and doesn’t appreciate me choosing myself. I’m positive that if he actually got to know you, he would have no problem with my choice, but he is stubborn. It doesn’t help that he had someone else in mind, a man named Mirio Toogata who recently graduated from the Academy and joined the Knights. Regardless,” he put a hand up, stopping Izuku from voicing any complaints or questions on the matter, “you are my choice, and I trust you fully with One for All.”

“Speaking of which,” Izuku began, “you promised to tell me the history of One for All. How does it even work? My classmates told me they couldn’t activate their Crests on command, but that’s the only way One for All activates. And what about that sword from Zanado?”

“I will answer your questions,” All Might said, already looking tired, “though I might as well tell you the full story. You should sit down, this will take a while.”

* * *

“Unlike the other Crests of noble families, One for All did not come from the Goddess, at least not directly. See, long ago, just after the Goddess gifted the noble humans Crests, two divine dragon brothers lived with Crests in their blood. The younger brother, whose name had been lost, held a Crest that allowed him to channel his divine power into whatever he wanted, but he held little power and could not do much. The elder, who we will call All for One, held a similar power, though he could only use his power when he drank Crested blood, and could only use the power of the Crest he just consumed.

“Eventually, All for One grew envious of the powers of the blessed humans, and wished for them himself. He descended from his holy perch and found a group of selfish humans who hated the goddess and her chosen heroes. He taught them divine secrets, betraying the goddess and beginning a terrible war across the continent. The younger brother, who we will call One for All, attempted to stop him, but due to his lack of power he failed. 

“As I’m sure you know, Crests are divine energy that runs through our veins, gradually building power. When this energy reaches its max and overflows, Crests activate, though in different ways. For instance, one Crest may give muscles extra power during an attack, while another may use its energy to refuel spell consumption. One for All’s Crest continually built power, but due to its voluntary nature, never overflows and activates. As time went on, more energy built within the Crest over time, making the effects more and more powerful when activated.

“However, One for All knew that his power was not enough on his own, not when his brother feasted on the blood of the Crested in war, so he figured out how to pass on his Crest. As it draws from a single energy source, there can only be one holder of One for All at a time, and it cannot be passed on through reproduction, unlike other Crests. However, he knew that even the Crest alone would not be enough to defeat his brother.”

Very carefully, All Might rose from his desk, unlocked a case on the side of the room, and from it drew the sword Izuku had encountered at Zanado. The red Crest Stone in the hilt pulsed mildly in All Might’s hands, illuminating the jagged edges of the blade.

“This is the sword One for All created using the knowledge of the goddess. As you saw, when aligned with his Crest it can extend into a whip that can strike from long distances. It is referred to as the Sword of the Creator, though how it gained that name I know not.

“My mentor, Shimura Nana, was the seventh holder of One for All and the last true wielder of this sword. She was a mercenary who found me, a penniless commoner, and decided to teach me. However, the same dragon who started the first war, All for One, killed her, and the sword was lost. Seven years ago, I fought All for One and his armies, the Agarthans, and thought I had killed him, though my injury was the price I paid for victory. Or so I thought.”

Izuku’s eyes widened as he recognized the word ‘Agarthans’. “Shigaraki said he was the ‘pride of Agartha’ and he had the sword. You think All for One is still alive?”

All Might nodded gravely. “The monster, the Nomu, could have only been his doing. More than that, you said Shigaraki had a major Crest of Dominic? My mentor married a Dominic noble. Twenty years ago, they were all mysteriously murdered. I believe that Shigaraki is the grandson of my mentor. To think that monster corrupted him, and wanted him to use the sword to kill me… No matter. The sword is now yours.”

All Might presented the sword to Izuku, who almost flinched. “You want me to have it? What? You should wield it, not me! And what about your gauntlets? Aren’t they the Relic of our Crest?”

“No,” All Might admitted, “they are actually just very powerful Holy Regalia crafted after the sword was lost. As for the sword, you are the new holder of One for All, and as such you should have it. Connecting with it will help you control your Crest more easily without breaking your bones again, even without it nearby. You may have some issues when it is off hand, but it should help greatly. Besides,” he said, rubbing the back of his head, “I am terrible with swords.”

Izuku took the sword from his mentor, feeling it thrum as it fell in his hands. Looking down at the stone, he felt something inside of his click, like this was a part of him now.

“Thank you,” he said, almost a whisper. “I’ll make you proud.”

“My boy, you already have.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, War Without Bloodshed, will cover the Tournament.


	8. War Without Bloodshed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Grand Tournament proceeds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god this chapter was hell to write for some reason. I haven't even proofread it, I'm sure it does not read well but I just needed to get it out. Sorry if it's underwhelming.
> 
> So basically I have lost even more motivation for this fic, so I've decided that I'm going to write an epilogue at some point, then I might add some one-shots in the future, but only if I feel like it. That way I can just have it be closed rather than hanging over my head.
> 
> As always, let me know your thoughts.

Now knowing the truth of his Crest, Izuku redoubled his training, hoping to master the Tactician class at the same time as the rest of his house so as not to fall behind. He soon found himself getting stronger, no longer needing to rely on tomes to cast simple battle magic, though he still preferred them for more complicated (interesting) spells. Still, throwing around Cutting Gales and actually having them do damage felt good.

In fact, Izuku was starting to notice he was getting stronger rather quickly. Maybe it was because he had neglected his own physical shape for so long, but his strength and speed had grown much more than of his classmates had. He was even starting to beat others in one-on-one spars, which had never happened before.

Before he knew it though, the Grand Tournament was upon him. Nobles and mercenaries from across the continent gathered at the monastery to witness the event, causing all the local inns to be flooded with merchants and spectators. Even most of the Knights of Seiros were called back, though privately Izuku knew that that was because of the attack at Zanado; the church wanted more protection than usual.

The tournament was divided into two sections: first, all members of all three houses (or four, he supposed) fought in open-field combat at Gronder Field, a massive Empire territory that was one of the largest open expanses in Fodlan. Students were permitted to team up or go solo, though generally the three classes teamed up against each other. When only 16 people were left, a little less than one class, the second portion began: one-on-one combat. As it was much easier to control, that event was held a day later at the monastery, where the training grounds would be modified to hold spectators. The final 16 contendendors would fight in a tournament bracket until a winner was decided.

For both battles, only training weapons were allowed so as not to seriously maim anyone, which also meant Relics were forbidden. Unfortunately for Izuku, that also meant he’d likely have a hard time controlling his Crest, though now since he’d Bonded with his Relic it wouldn’t be as bad as it originally was.

Soon Izuku found himself with his class in the northern corner of Gronder Field, preparing for the battle. Across the faces of his classmates, Izuku saw determined expressions and excitement, with hints of fear and anticipation. They all knew the other classes would strike at them, so they’d need solid leadership, but they were also all fighting to distinguish themselves. After all, even if they all made it through the other teams, three people would still have to lose to make it to the Tournament.

“Midoriya,” Todoroki’s voice cut through his thoughts, as well as most of the conversation around them, “I think, objectively, that I am more powerful than you.” Everyone was silent at that, watching the prince challenge not the other two future heads of state, but a lower noble. “Your Crest, it works similarly to that of All Might’s. I will defeat you. Consider this a declaration of war.”

There was silence for a moment. Then, “What the fuck, you shitty Prince!” roared Kacchan. “I’ll fucking kill you all!” He stormed off, apparently deciding to fight on his own.

“Um, should some of us go with him?” Kirishima cautiously asked after a moment. “I mean, if that’s alright.”

“I’ll go!” chimed Ashido, “I’m sure it’ll be fine if some of us split off, right?” 

Iida and Yoayorozu shared a look, then shrugged. In a matter of minutes, Kirishima, Sero, and Ashido had mobilized to assist the angry Brigand while the rest of the class began to get into formation. Interestingly, Todoroki was still with the rest of the group, though now pointedly not looking at him. 

Finally, the time had come. Horns rang out, and the battle began.

* * *

Momo was worried about the Tournament. She was second in command of their class, if Iida fell she would be first, and she wasn’t sure she could handle it. Well, she knew she could, but it was a lot of pressure.

As soon as the horn sounded, the class buckled down,more defensive units on the outside and mages and archers inside. They’d strategized that with the Battle of Zanado, the other classes would come to them and therefore they should set up defensively. Immediately, it became clear that they were right.

On the horizon, they saw two sizable groups marching towards them from the southeast and southwest. At their heads, Momo recognized the leaders of the Blue Lions and the Golden Deer. Interestingly, they weren’t heading directly for them. 

Upon seeing that the Golden Deer were also approaching, the Blue Lions changed course, apparently deciding to take the center fort. Momo cursed under her breath, drawing a glance from Jirou; she had been hoping both would fall into their trap, making the match far simpler. Luckily, the Golden Deer still did.

The bridge between the main field and where the Black Eagles had fortified themselves was sturdy, but narrow, meaning it was a perfect choke point. Sure enough, the Golden Deer struggled to maintain formation as they approached the bridge. For a minute, the Eagles waited; Momo knew that attacking too early would only drive the opposing group off. Attacking too late would end in their elimination.

When the other class was halfway across, Iida gave the signal. “Fire!” Momo called. The mages and bow-wielding Eagles shot at the Deer, instantly eliminating half of them. Momo herself was wielding a bow; though Lords technically were a sword-based class, she had a talent for the ranged weapon. 

The targeting of her class was not random. The ranged units aimed for other mages and archers, ensuring that the Deer had no choice but to engage in close combat. Sure enough, the vastly outnumbered Deer finally crossed the bridge, only to be met with the full wrath of the Black Eagles close combat units. 

Momo drew her sword, advancing on a Brigand without mercy, before quickly dispatching him with her fast footwork. She watched her classmates as well, noting Midoriya and Uraraka taking on the enemy commander together; Midoirya continually made sure to stay to her left side while Uraraka kept just out of range on her Pegasus. It was a good tactic: the commander focused on the more imposing Pegasus Knight, who was actually just out of reach, while Midoriya actually dealt damage. In a few more solid strikes, the command was out.

And with that, the Golden Deer had been eliminated. Looking around, Momo noted that though Sato and Hagakure had been eliminated, the rest of the Black Eagles were still in the game. She smiled to herself. The victory had been decisive and public; even if they lost the Tournament, the nobles and mercenaries watching would still have seen their successful play.

Momo wasn’t here to be noticed though. She was here to win. As heir to the most powerful family in the Alliance, winning the Grand Tournament would cement her as a key figure on the continental playing field. She might not need the attention as much as other minor heirs or commoners, but she needed the status to ensure she held power.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a dull ballista bolt soaring towards her, sailing towards their only true healer: Koda. The blow knocked the Priest to the ground, signalling him as out. Cursing, Momo quickly wrangled the surprised Black Eagles back into formation, just in time for Ojiro to protect the lofted Uraraka from another bolt. Looking towards the hill, Momo noticed a smug Monoma standing on the hill, though she couldn’t see who exactly was manning the ballista itself. 

What she could also see, however, were two other forces converging towards the center of the battlefield: first, from the west, she saw Bakugo’s small troup furiously cutting through the Blue Lions with terrifying efficiency. From the South, however, a deep, impenetrable fog rolled across the field: dark magic. If Momo had to warrant a guess, she would say it was that Dark Mage from the Ashen Wolves.

Gritting her teeth, she looked towards Iida and held up two fingers, who nodded at her. They, along with Midoriya had discussed many potential outcomes and strategies in the previous days, coming up with several potential tactics for different scenarios. This had been a likely one.

It was time to split up.

* * *

The next hour and a half was trying for everyone, but Ochako privately thought that she and Uravity had it the worst. As the only flier in the Black Eagles house, she had the job of flying between the class after they split into two groups to pincer the remaining members. Between that, doding the endless barrage of arrows from enemy archers, and taking out any inconvenient mage, she was exhausted by the end of the battle, though had managed to stick through the entire thing.

Thankfully, the ballista had been quickly captured by Bakugo, who was more interested in taking down the Blue Lions than her, though she had been worried when he’d ran off in a rampage against Monoma, only for it to be captured by Ashen Wolves’ dark mage. Strangely, the said mage didn’t target her, even once. He had plenty of opportunity, but he never attacked.

Eventually, a horn blew, signalling that only 16 units remained, meaning she could finally, _finally_ rest. She made an effort not to collapse, instead gently dismounting and running her hand through Uravity’s mane. She had been given the Pegasus upon arriving at the monastery for classes, and wouldn’t trade her for anything in the world. After the Battle of Zanado, she couldn’t imagine riding another.

Surveying the field, Ochako noted both Iida and Deku had advanced, so the rest didn’t really matter.

“Uraraka!” Deku called her over. She smiled and trod across the field to him. “You did great! I can’t wait until tomorrow!”

“Thank the goddess we have a night to rest,” Ochako sighed, “I don’t think I’d be able to fight full force right now.”

He nodded sympathetically, opening his mouth to reply, before stopping. He was looking with a worried expression over her shoulder. Turning to follow her gaze, she saw Todoroki -- the Prince, she still couldn’t get over that -- just turning away from them from across the field.

“What’s up with him?” Ochako asked, turning back to face Deku.

“I don’t know,” he admittedly, uncharacteristically quiet. She waited another moment, expecting him to follow up, as he always did, but instead he just continued to look worriedly into the distance.

“Let’s go back, I think we could both use some rest,” she finally said after a minute of silence. That seemed to shake him out of his funk, but before he could respond, a voice yelled out over the field.

“Excuse me, I’d like to renounce my spot in the tournament.” Ojiro’s voice carried, shocking everyone around them. Looking up towards the spectators’ hill, Ochako could see the Knights were also surprised. “I believe I did not earn my victory, and I’d like someone else to have an opportunity.”

Before anyone could properly respond, another voice chimed in. “I would also like to forgo my spot.” It was a boy from the Blue Lions, though Ochako didn’t recognize him.

Everyone watched in silence as the Knights of Seiros conferred among themselves. Finally, the Gremory known as Midnight stepped forward. “We have decided to allow for your withdrawal. Shiozaki Ibara and Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu will be allowed to compete in your steads. Everyone, please return to the monastery to rest, and the tournament matchups will be announced later tonight.”

With that, the students began to disperse, heading towards the transports that had brought them here. Looking at Deku, Ochako blushed a little, but gathered her courage.

“Would you like to ride on Uravity with me?” she asked him. “It’ll be easier than walking.”

Deku began to tear up, and for a second she wondered if she’d done something wrong. Then, he said, “I’d love that, thank you. I’ve never…”

She laughed. “I understand, but she doesn’t bite. Look!” she hoisted him onto the Pegasus with her considerable strength before climbing up herself, so her back was to him. To be honest, it was a kind of embarrassing position, but she didn’t mind.

“Oh, I forgot to say,” Deku began, “I was really impressed with the way you dealt with that mage! It was so cool how…”

Ochako guided Uravity into flight, but enjoyed listening to his rant. With her best friend at her back and her Pegasus beneath her, nothing could stop her tomorrow.

* * *

Later that night, after eating way more than usual at the feast, Izuku sat on his bed reading his Elwind tome. While the book held several fascinating spells, most people used them only as foci. Izuku thought that was wasteful: reading the tome would help him focus more complex magic.

In the corner of his room, the Sword of the Creator was propped unceremoniously against the wall. Even out of his hands, Izuku could feel his connection to it, the way the weapon resonated with him, like an extension of his body. When he held it, his Crest felt fully under his control, and he hadn’t had a single injury with it yet. But he knew that wasn’t good enough.

Gently, he placed the Elwind tome on his bedside table, out of reach. Raising his hand, Izuku focused on his connection to the Relic, and cast a spell. His blood sang and the Crest appeared as gusts of winds blew around the room, far more powerful than what he’d be able to manage on his own.

Izuku laughed, delighted. He’d activated his Crest, and hadn’t even broken a finger in the process!

Then, a knock came at his door.

“Midoriya, may I speak to you?” Todoroki’s voice came from the other side.

“Y-yes, one moment!” Releasing the spell, Izuku leapt up to open the door. Todoroki stood on the other side in his standard academy uniform, the gold trimming accentuating his heterochromatic eyes. Izuku lets him in without a thought, oh goddess his room was so messy. He didn’t have the proper chairs to seat royalty, and he was going to get murdered for being inconvenient to the future Emperor --

“It’s alright, Midoriya,” Todoroki interrupted, making Izuku blush with the realization that he had been mumbling. “I came to talk to you on my own, you don’t need to worry.” Todoroki went quiet then, looking innocently around the room.

“Um, what can I help you with, Your Highness?” Izuku asked awkwardly. 

“Please, just Todoroki, if you will,” Shouto said, refocusing his attention on the shorter boy. “I wanted to tell you something, before our match tomorrow. I assume you’ll be using both magic and weapons, but I won’t be able to do the same. I assume you know about how the nobility arranges marriages?”

Izuku was startled by the sudden transition, but nodded. “Most of them are to spread Crests across the nobility, either by introducing a new Crest to a bloodline or to increase the odds of a Crest appearing in the child. Holy blood draws out holy blood,” he responded. 

“Exactly,” Todoroki said coolly. “My mother was from house Gloucester in the Alliance, but was married off to the Emperor for territory. Unfortunately, this is standard, but my father… he was desperate for an heir with power. He’s been unable to expand the empire due to the Church’s influence, and he believes that the key to conquering the Church is by beating All Might.” Todoroki shook his head, disgusted at his own words.

“The Emperor decided that he needed to create an heir with tremendous power,” he continued, “and what better power than that of the Goddess? My oldest brother, Touya, had his Crest, but it wasn’t enough for my father. When my other two siblings were born without Crests…” Todoroki stopped, almost shaking with rage.

“He decided my mother needed to be modified.” His voice was cold, and it shook Izuku to his core. “They ran experiments on her. The experiments turned her hair white and drove her to the brink of insanity. Whatever they did, though, it worked: I was born with two Crests: Gloucester, from my mother, and Seiros, from my father.” 

Todoroki conjured the images of the two Crests on each side of his body. Izuku could only stare, shocked; he’d never heard of someone with two Crests, it should be impossible. Except, he had heard of it. Was it possible that All For One could have…?

But Todoroki wasn’t finished. “My mother’s mind couldn’t handle what they’d done to her. When I was five, she broke. She was boiling hot water for tea, and…” Todoroki touched the scar on his face, and Izuku understood. “Ever since, I’ve decided that I won’t use my father’s Crest, even if it means never using a weapon again. I will win this tournament using only magic and my mother’s power.”

Izuku waited a moment to see if Todoroki was done. He could barely think about the toll such a life must have had on Todoroki, much less the political ramifications of everything that happened. Did the Church know? Did they care?

But that wasn’t important right now. Todoroki was.

When silence filled the room, Izuku responded: “Todoroki, that’s awful, and I’m so sorry for your and your mother’s pain. No one deserves that, and the Emperor needs to pay for what he’s done. 

“However, denying yourself a weapon will only hurt those you’re trying to protect. What if there’s a day where you run out of magic, but need to defend your citizens from monsters? Will you refuse to pick up a lance out of hatred for your father? How can you be a good ruler if you’re always weighed down by spite?”

Todoroki looked angry at that, and opened his mouth to speak, but Izuku beat him to it.

“I’m sorry, that wasn’t my place,” Izuku placated, bowing his head slightly in respect. “Still, think about it please. I hope tomorrow you’ll fight me with everything you have, but until then, goodnight.”

Recognizing the dismissal, Todoroki turned and headed towards the door. Right before he left though, he turned around.

“Midoriya,” Todoroki said cautiously, “can you keep this a secret? It would be bad if the wrong people were to find out.”

He sounded scared, Izuku noticed. Small and vulnerable in a way that he hadn’t heard Todoroki act before.

“Of course,” Izuku assured him. “Thank you for trusting me.”

With a small nod, Todoroki left into the cold night air, closing the door gently behind him.

“Fuck,” Izuku whispered to himself a minute later, “what am I going to do?”

* * *

If he was being honest with himself, Shouto didn’t really know why he had told Midoriya all that last night. 

The green-haired boy was a minor noble, and while he clearly showed potential, he was hardly the most pressing threat to Shouto’s victory in the tournament. While it seemed possible that his Crest was the same as All Might’s, Shouto wasn’t about to make threats only based on Crests. 

Maybe Shouto had chosen him because there was something magnetic about the Midoriya. He had a gravitas that differed from anyone he’d ever met before, even the leaders of the different nations. It was like Midoriya wanted to be a beacon, and despite his obvious weaknesses, in some moments, he seemed to have the strength.

Regardless of the why, Shouto felt much better for having told someone. Though it wasn’t much, it felt affirming to have someone hear his struggles and sympathize with him, even if Midoriya seemed to have missed the point: using his Father’s Crest would mean Shouto giving into him.

A shout from below him pulled Shouto out of his train of thought. One of his professor’s, a Knight of Seiros named Yamada, was calling the Tournament to begin.

“Welcome, all to the Officer’s Academy Tournament!” the Bow Knight bellowed from atop his horse. “The rules are simple: the students will fight until either forfeits or is knocked out of the ring. Any non-lethal magic is acceptable, but only training weapons are allowed. Let’s begin with our first two students: the Black Eagle’s Midoriya Izuku, versus the Ashen Wolves’ Shinsou Hitoshi!”

The crowd roared as the two students entered the field. Shouto could make out little except the determined expression in Midoriya’s face, not that he cared much. He expected Midoriya to win though, so he could beat him in the next round. He’d show his Father that he could beat All Might’s Crest without that of Seiros.

Professor Kayama, also known as the Midnight Gremory, struck her arm down. The match was on.

Shinsou immediately threw out three successive Miasma spells as Midoriya rushed towards him. Midoriya easily dodged the first two balls of dark magic before easily slicing through the last with his sword, dispelling it. Unfortunately, that meant that Midoriya had to stop his advance for just a moment.

Shouto could see Shinsou’s smirk as he raised his arm. From the ground, black tentacles emerged in a Banshee spell, quickly wrapping around Midoriya’s limbs and holding him still. Shouto’s eyes widened: it was difficult dark magic, and he could see its power even from high in the stadium. 

Vaguely, Shouto could see the opponent’s mouths moving, but he couldn’t hear anything they said. Slowly, the Banshee spell pulled at Midoriya, dragging him towards the edge of the arena. Shouto sighed; it looked like Midoriya would lose after all. What a shame.

Then, the noble stopped. In the blink of an eye, his Crest activated, and Midoriya spun in a Hexblade, dispelling the enemy magic with the flash. A rush of wind magic flew through the stadium, almost knocking the wide-eyed Shinsou back. 

Midoriya rushed the dark mage instantly, not giving him any time to recover, without a weapon, Shinsou had no way to defend himself from the fast blows. A few seconds later, Shinsou was out of the ring. 

Ignoring the cheers and announcements as he got up from his seat, Shouto leisurely made his way down towards the stadium and his match. Halfway down, a large, familiar hand stopped him. Shouto scowled.

“You need to stop this childish nonsense,” the Emperor growled. “Your refusal to wield a weapon will make you weak.”

“I can win with magic alone,” he responded coldly.

“Boy, you will do well to remember your place,” his father commanded, growing angrier. “Without a weapon, you will fail, but with Aymr --”

“I will never wield your disgusting axe,” Shouto spat, brushing the hand off his shoulder, “and I will never use your Crest. Now, I have a tournament to win.”

Shouto blocked out the rest of his father’s words as he stormed down to the arena. In a haze, he barely registered walking onto the field, not even bothering to take a practice lance, his usual choice as a backup. Vaguely, he registered Sero standing in front of him, the Mercenary holding his sword ready.

Kayama signaled a start. 

Thinking of his father, Shouto readied his hand, feeling the Crest of Gloucester surge through him as he cast his most powerful spell: Fimbulvinter.

Powered by his Crest, the glacier spiked out freezing his opponent and towering high above. The pitch was silent. Kayama called the match. The crowd chanted, but Shouto wasn’t paying attention.

Looking at the mass of ice in front of him, Shouto felt his anger drain, leaving him empty. It wasn’t Sero’s fault the Emperor was an asshole.

“I’m sorry,” he said to his shivering opponent as he unfroze him, “I was angry.”

* * *

Izuku became increasingly nervous as the fights dragged on. Todoroki’s frightening display had yet to be matched by any other competitor, though Uraraka and Kacchan’s current battle seemed to be close. 

On her pegasus, Uraraka could dodge most of the terrifying blows of the grounded Brigand, but without a javelin she couldn’t attack without getting close. And Kacchan was not someone you’d want to get close to when he had an axe. 

In one final move, Uraraka leaped from her pegasus, spinning in a perfect Tempest Lance down on Kacchan. Izuku’s eyes widened; that hit would take him out for sure, and she was too fast to dodge.

Instead of blocking or dodging, though, he did the unexpected: he swung right back.

His Crest of Fraldarius activated, shattering Uraraka’s lance and sending her flying as his axe collided with it. Uraraka was down.

Izuku sighed, saddened but unsurprised by the outcome. He had been hoping his friend could beat Kacchan, but the Brigand was simply too powerful. Izuku pushed himself up, making his way down to the pitch to comfort his friend and start his next match. With Todoroki. He was going to die.

“You, boy,” a deep voice bellowed after him. 

Izuku turned, carefully keeping his expressions off his face as he saw the Emperor of Adrestia facing him. The man wore full armor, made for Wyvern riding and fit for his status. At his side, the Relic axe Aymr twitched. The axe had only recently been discovered in what the Empire claimed to be a “gift from the Goddess”. After Todoroki’s story last night, though, Izuku had doubts.

“You wield a Relic, like All Might,” the man continued, oblivious to Izuku’s train of thought. “You will be an interesting obstacle for Shouto to overcome.”

Izuku thought for a moment, recalling his lessons in diplomacy with Nedzu, before speaking. 

“Tell me, your Majesty,” he started, cooly as possible, “how did your border conflict near Remire go? Did you surpass All Might?”

They both knew he had not. The Empire had lost the battle for expansion to the Church, making them lose valuable resources for no gain. It was a humiliating defeat, both in military and politics.

Endeavor fumed silently, but said nothing.

Izuku turned. He had a battle to win.

* * *

Izuku woke two hours later in the medic room with pain running down his arms. For a moment, he felt confused, unable to remember how he got there. Then, in a flash, it came back to him.

On the bright side, he was able to make Todoroki realize that the Crest of Seiros was his own, and not his just father’s. On the other hand, it had activated at the end of the fight when Todoroki had run out of spell uses and had delivered a devastating Frozen Lance attack. Combined with the Crest of Seiros, well… Izuku wasn’t surprised that he was not in medical care.

“Oh, you’re awake.” 

Izuku looked over to find the Todoroki prince sitting near him, looking worse for wear. His face was covered in bruises, but his expression was… not quite content, but more peaceful than before.

“The tournament…?” Izuku croaked out.

“You’ve been out for hours,” Todoroki said, hearing the question for what it was. “I made it to the finals, but Bakugo won in the end. I tried to use a weapon when I ran out of spells again, but it seems I still have a lot to learn.”

Though unsurprised, Izuku couldn’t help the pang that resonated in his chest. He had hoped that someone would be able to surpass Kacchan, but apparently not.

“You were right, Midoriya” the prince continued, looking down at his hands, “I’ve been selfish. I need to use my Crests, both of them, to help my people. I’ll learn, in the future.”

“Izuku,” he managed to get out.

“A-alright, Izuku then,” Todoroki stammered. “Call me Shouto, then. I’ve already told you my tragic backstory, after all.”

Izuku smiled at him. Shouto smiled back.


	9. The Horizon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Looking out toward the future.

After the Grand Tournament, things felt weirdly different to Izuku. Technically, the only major change was that he and Shouto were friends now, but somehow the entire class felt lighter, like a little friendly competition had been enough to clear the air after the Battle of Zanado.

Now, the students of the Black Eagles were preparing to splinter off to learn more from people in the field. While most of his classmates would simply accompany various sects of the Knights of Seiros on various missions, others had found fascinating opportunities either through their family connections or mercenary bands.

Most notably, Uraraka wanted to learn unmounted combat from an oddly-named mercenary called Gunhead, while Tokoyami had secured himself a week of travel in the Sreng region with the legendary mercenary known as Hawks. (He had gained the name by being the only known male Falcon Knight in living memory, though no one knows how he convinced a pegasus to let him ride it. Izuku thought it was very exciting no matter how blasé Tokoyami was about it)

Oddly, Iida had decided against going back to the Kingdom, despite being royalty. Instead, he had accepted a patrol job in Remire Village. Izuku just hoped it wasn’t because of a murderous religious fanatic who had started operating there and had recently attacked Iida’s brother, the crown prince.

Izuku, on the other hand, still wasn’t sure where he would be going. While he’d gotten some offers after the Tournament, none of them sat right with him. Regardless, he was sure he’d figure it out.

Still, Izuku couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. He kept thinking back on All Might’s story of One for All, but something just didn’t add up. He’d considered talking to Nedzu about it, but as helpful as the laguz was, Izuku couldn’t help but feel wary of the smaller man. He was the Archbishop, after all, and he didn’t get that position by simply being kind and helpful. 

Unfortunately, without any actual way to voice his suspicions, there was nothing he could really do on that front. Izuku resigned himself to having to wait and see what details brought themselves out.

The potential threat of All for One, as well as his possible connections to the Emperor, however, could be acted against.

* * *

“You want to start cutting off support for the current Emperor of Adrestia?” Nedzu interrupted Izuku’s complicated, multi-step plan for financial and political manipulation.

Izuku was silent for a moment, considering if he wanted to reveal his hand. He figured Nedzu could obviously already tell, so playing dumb wouldn’t help.

“Yes,” he said simply. “Something about him seems wary, and he’s too power hungry. These plans will weaken support for him, but not the Empire as a whole. While I don’t like the Emperor, I don’t want his people to suffer for him.”

“A wise and kind attitude,” Nedzu praised. There was a look in his eyes, one that Izuku had seen before but never placed. It only made him more suspicious of the smaller man. “It seems that your best option would be to start by forging trade alliances in Remire then, as it’s on the border of the Empire and the Church’s territory.”

“Yes, but I don’t know how to do that,” Izuku admitted, albeit a bit reluctantly. “Besides, I need to focus primarily on getting stronger, and I still haven’t chosen who I’ll be working with in the coming weeks.”

“I see,” Nedzu hummed appreciatively. “Might I recommend Sir Nighteye? He is a Grandmaster, and thus should be able to help you with your strategies and your magic work immensely. He also happens to be stationed near Remire at the moment.”

“I would love to work under him,” Izuku said honestly, “but he seems to hate me. He didn’t offer me an internship, after all.”

“Well, that’s easily worked around,” Nedzu replied, grinning. “He’s a Knight of Seiros, and I am the Archbishop. I do have some sway in these matters, you know.”

* * *

If Shouto was being honest, Midoriya -- Izuku -- kind of intimidated him now. 

Before, he had been some spoiled noble who didn’t know how to use his mysterious power. Now, after their fight, Shouto could see that he was a powerhouse, but literally and emotionally. His determination during their battle, throwing out Wind spells powerful enough to shatter glaciers at the cost of his fingers… it was terrifying, to say the least.

At the same time though, Shouto could see now how kind and brilliant the Kingdom noble was. He had immediately believed Shouto when he had told him his story, never even questioning its truth, and then he’d done what no one else had before: he helped. He had shattered Shouto’s walls and showed him the truth as easily as he shattered ice.

Where Izuku had once been cute, now he was beautiful.

Shouto pondered this as he watched the boy twist spells with Momo. Technically, the latter wasn’t supposed to be performing magic in her class, but she’d recently gotten an exception just to practice and make sure her talents weren’t wasted in that area. 

Screwing his courage to the sticking place, Shouto walked towards them.

“...and that’s the core theory behind tracking spells!” Izuku was saying excitedly to Momo.

“I see,” she nodded, looking a bit lost, but interested regardless. “Thank you, Midoriya, I appreciate your help in this.” She bowed slightly.

“No really, it’s nothing!” Izuku said, his cheeks flushing pink as he shook his head vigorously. “Really, anyone would have helped!”

“Regardless, I’m glad it was you,” Momo smiled. She turned, seeing Shouto approach, and her smile widened. “Oh hello, Todoroki, how nice to see you! I’ll clear out so the grounds don’t get more crowded.”

The Alliance heir almost ran out as Shouto shot her a dirty look. Despite technically being rival heirs, they had spent time together as children, when a minor feud when they were children had forced her to the empire for her safety. The Emperor, seeing a potential political marriage, had made them spend time together, and they became fast friends. Once at UA, they rekindled their friendship, though neither was particularly interesting in the opposite sex, nullifying any real marriage possibilities.

“Um, Todo-- Shouto, are you here to practice your new Fire spells?” Izuku asked shyly, pulling Shouto out of his thoughts. 

“No, but thank you for the suggestion, they already have given me more flexibility when my ice magic runs out,” Shouto replied easily. “Actually, I was looking for you.”

“Me?” Izuku said, startled.

“Yes, I was hoping you’d help me. I know now that I need to master a weapon for close combat, especially if I want to utilize my Fa -- my Crest. However, I’m not actually very good with weapons, so I was hoping you’d help me, since you’re skilled with weapon and magic fighting.”

“Really?” Izuku asked, blushing a little for some reason. “Of course I can help you! I remember from Aizawa’s exams that you aren’t great at any weapons right now, but it’s possible you have some sort of budding talent. Let’s start with the lance, since you already have your Frozen Lance technique.”

Understanding the silent suggestion, Shouto grabbed a practice lance and fell into position. Without a word of warning, Izuku struck out with his wooden sword, aiming a fast hit to the shoulder. Surprised, Shouto’s form crubbled spectacularly as he rushed to block it.

“Hmmm, as I suspected,” Izuku mumbled under his breath, “you’ve taught yourself enough of lance work to infuse it with magic, but the crumbling under pressure implies that there isn’t much more to your natural talent there. Normally that’d be fine, as training with lances allows you the freedom to train as a Dark Knight, even if you aren’t great at them. That said, you aren’t exactly a master of horses either, so best to look elsewhere. You’re currently weak in axes, but we should try just for the possibility of Aymr --”

“No,” Shouto interrupted sharply, jarring Izuku. “I’m not wielding an axe. Even ignoring Aymr, my father has tried to teach me enough about them to know that I’ll be bad at them, no matter how much practice.”

“Alright,” Izuku placated easily, “then that leaves the sword.”

The green-haired boy easily tossed a different practice sword to the prince, who caught it with a bit of fumbling. Shouto spread his feet apart, hoping to center himself as Izuku darted towards him again. Unlike before, however, he kept his stance, missing the parry but holding steady against the surprisingly gentle tap.

“Good, you didn’t break form,” Izuku smiled at him. Shouto, for unrelated reasons, felt uncharacteristically light. “I think swords might be a good starting point for you. Now, let me teach you how to actually stand.”

For the next hour and a half, Izuku switched between teaching Shouto how to properly wield a sword (doing much better than his childhood tutors) and viciously attacking him to test his learning. By the end, Shouto was tired, hungry, and bruised in both body and ego.

“You did a great job!” Izuku said enthusiastically, barely sweating. “I’m almost sure you have a budding talent in swords, if you keep training you’ll master it for sure! Now that I’m thinking about it, you could be a great Mortal Savant when we reclass. The armor will probably inhibit your speed, but with your power it’ll be useful to...”

Shouto smiled slightly as the muttering became too quiet to make out. Training with Izuku felt nothing like training with the Emperor. For once, Shouto was excited to learn how to use his Crest.

* * *

Looking out at the sunset, Izuku felt fear and awe resonate in him. The outline of the backlit Red Canyon menaced the horizon, reminding him of the horrific enemies he fought there and how they’re still waiting out there, somewhere, for him. Even with the pressure crushing him, though, he still felt wonder at the scene: gold light illuminated the countryside, displaying the wonders of the world.

Reluctantly, he turned from the window, where a judgemental Grandmaster glared at him from the other side of the office. If Izuku wanted to see his own horizon shine with golden light, this meeting was crucial.

“So, if you can get this stamp from me, I’ll take you on as my apprentice,” Sir Nighteye said flatly. “Otherwise, you’re on your own. Do you accept?”

Izuku took in a deep breath. Time to take the first steps towards the horizon.

“I’m ready.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god I can’t believe this (my first fic) is done! Sorry if it feels only half finished, that’s because it is. I lost motivation, but I’ll probably write some oneshots about their future in my future. Hopefully this will give me motivation to finish the last of The Brighter the Light (which is almost done! Promise!), but that might take a while now that classes have started.
> 
> P.S. Tag yourself: I’m Shouto who’s gay and physically weak because he spends all his time studying magic.


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